Kathmandu Archives

12/Sep/2022

Location

Pashupati Nath Temple is a temple based on Lord Shiva. This temple is famous as Pashupati Nath Temple in two different places all over the world. The first temple is located in Kathmandu, Nepal and the second temple is located at Mandsaur in India.

Of these two, the Pashupati Nath Temple of Nepal is more recognized and more devotees come here for darshan than Mandsaur. Today we will talk about this grand temple of Lord Shiva located in Kathmandu, Nepal. This temple of Nepal is located in Devpatan village on the banks of a river named Bagmati, 3 km northwest of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

UNESCO Recognition

In this pilgrimage, the head of the bull form of Lord Shiva is worshiped, which is Panchmukhi. The special faith of the devotees towards this temple is towards the Shiva temple, which is considered to be the best in Nepal. This temple located in Nepal is also included in the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites, which makes the faith of the people of this temple even bigger.

It is often seen that there are very few such temples that have been included by UNESCO in its list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. This temple is included. It is a matter of pride for all Shiva devotees.

Only Hindus Allowed Entry

The special thing about this temple is that in this temple only Hindus and those who have faith in Lord Shiva have been allowed inside the temple premises. If a person of any other religion wants to enter this temple, then he is not allowed to enter the temple premises. People of any other religion can visit this temple from the other bank of the Bagmati river.

In this city there is a confluence of the Bagmati and Vishnumati rivers. Pashupatinath Temple is on the banks of the Vishnumati River. In the sanctum sanctorum of the Pashupati Nath Temple, there is a Panchamukhi Shivling, which is believed to be one of the eight element idols of Lord Shankar. This is the head of Lord Shiva in the form of Maharishi. There is an idol of Nandi in a pavilion nearby. There is a huge temple of the goddess near the Pashupati Nath Temple. Visiting here before or after Kedarnath is mandatory.

Believe of Devotees

Lakhs of people come to this special Shiva temple for darshan and the wishes of all Shiva devotees are fulfilled here by Lord Shiva. The special belief regarding this temple is that whoever visits this temple does not have to take birth as an animal in his next life. But the condition is that one should not have a darshan of Nandi before visiting the main temple.

If seen, Pashupatinath means animal i.e., or creature, Pati means lord and Nath also means God or owner. If all these are added, then it is the lord of the living beings or we can also call it the lord of all the living beings of the world.

History of Pashupati Nath Temple

If we talk about the history of this temple, then the history of this temple is very old. It believed that the Shivling located in Nepal was established even before the writing of Vedas. Due to the very ancient history of this temple, there is no written evidence related to the construction of this temple, on the basis of which we can say in which year it built.

If history kept in view, it mentioned in some places in relation to the construction of this temple that it built in the third BC and the main contribution behind its construction that of the animal watch of the Somdev dynasty.

Although there is no verifiable written evidence of this, it is only revealed by some common writings. But history bears witness that this temple has seen many reconstructions throughout its lifetime.

This temple of Nepal has been rebuilt many times by different people, then somewhere this temple is still standing in front of us in a good condition. After the construction of the temple, this temple was first rebuilt in the 11th century. This reconstruction, which took place after about 7 centuries, gave a new panoramic view to this temple.

After this, by the 17th century, the temple badly damaged by termites. To compensate for the damage caused by termites, this temple rebuilt in the 17th century. Its original temple destroyed several times. The present form of the temple given by King Bhupendra Malla in 1697.

After this, in April 2015 the modern era, this Pashupati Nath Temple once again had to face the wrath of nature. Although this devastating earthquake did not cause any damage to the main temple and the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, some external buildings of the temple council destroyed by this earthquake. Not being able to damage the main sanctum sanctorum of the temple by this devastating earthquake was nothing short of a miracle. At this time, God also seen bowing down in front of this temple.

The Temple

This temple is the center of special reverence for all the devotees who have reverence for Lord Shiva. Where in the sanctum sanctorum, the five-faced bull of Lord Shiva can be easily seen. Thousands of lakhs of Shiva devotees come to see the bull-shaped idol of this Panchmukhi Shiva.

This five-faced idol of Lord Shiva has one face in all four directions and one face upwards in Pashupati Deity. Lord Shiva seen holding a Rudraksha garland in the right hand of each face and a kamandal in the left hand.

If seen, then this Pashupati Nath Temple made like Paras stone Jyotirlinga. It believed that these five faces of Lord Shiva represent different directions and qualities. According to the belief, the one facing east called Satjyot, the one facing north called Ardhanarishvara and the one facing south called Aghora. . The face which facing upwards called Isan Mukhi.

The special features of this temple also include that along with many idols in this temple, 184 Shivalinga idols are located in the temple. Pashupati Nath Temple is directly related to the Kedarnath pilgrimage site located in Uttarakhand. There is a story behind it.

Legend

According to this, the Pandavas blamed for the murder of their family members due to the murder of the gotra. After which the Pandavas taught to suffer physical pain. After all this, the Pandavas went to the sage Ved Vyas for the redress of their sufferings, where the sage Ved Vyas suggested the Pandavas worship Lord Shiva and then the Pandavas got absorbed in the penance of Lord Shiva. Even after severe penance, the Pandavas did not see Lord Shiva. The main reason for this that Lord Shiva was angry with the killing of the gotras of the Pandavas and for this reason, Lord Shiva did not want to give darshan to the Pandavas.

After this Lord Shiva went to Uttarakhand and started living in the form of a bull. The Pandavas wanted to have the darshan of Lord Shiva in any condition. That is why in search of Lord Shiva, Pandavas reached Uttarakhand where Lord Shiva was roaming in the form of a bull.

This already known to the Pandavas by an Akashvani. Bhima wanted to catch the bull form of Lord Shiva, but Lord Shiva began to appear on the earth at the same time. Then the upper part of his torso i.e., the whole head appeared in the Pashupatinath temple of Kathmandu, since then the five-faced form of Lord Shiva worshiped here. After this incident, Panch Kedar also established in Uttarakhand.

In Satyuga, Lord Vishnu covered the linga of Pashupatinath by making a five-faced lingam of sapphire and made it easily visible.

In Dwaparayuga, Shri Krishna had traveled to Pashupatinath with his cowherds and suppressed the demon Vanasur here.

Lord Buddha came to Kathmandu after attaining enlightenment in 840 BC.

In 700 BC, Emperor Ashoka visited the Pashupati Nath Temple and offered prayers.

In 200 BC, the Lichchavi kings Mandev, Shankardev, Vrishdev got the temple renovated.

Shri Pashupatinath was the family deity of the 82 kings of the Gopal dynasty.

Due to the receipt of various royal families, the temple of Pashupatinath was full of gold, silver, diamonds and jewels. Even today, Gajamani, Nagmani, Mandukamani, Ekmukhi Rudraksh and south-facing ash kept in the construction of the temple. Pashupatinath also known as Parasnath.

How to reach Pashupati Nath Temple

Kathmandu to Delhi 1,500 km. is far. The airport named and at Kathmandu. Can go to Kathmandu by bus from Gorakhpur and Raxaul, Katihar and Jaynagar of Bihar.

By Air – The easiest way to reach Pashupati Nath Temple is by plane as the nearest airport is located in Kathmandu, which is very close to the temple. From here you will easily get bus and taxi service, with the help of which you will be able to reach the temple.

Important Information

This temple is one of the Ashtattva idols of Lord Shiva.
This is the Ardha Jyotirlinga of Kedareshwar Jyotirlinga.
Panchmukhi Shivling established in the temple.
Built in pagoda style of wood, the roof and shikhara of this temple gold-plated.
Here sandalwood prasad distributed among the devotees.
Gajamani, Nagmani, Mandukamani, Ekmukhi Rudraksh in the treasury of the temple even today.

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