Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam | 269th Shiva Sthalams(One of the Devara Paadal Petra Shiva Sthalam) |
Region | Vada Naadu |
Vada Naadu | 2nd Shiva Sthalam |
Pathigam | Saint Thirugnanasambanthar |
HISTORY:
The Pashupatinath
Temple is a famous and sacred Hindu temple complex
that is located on the banks of the Bagmati River,
approximately 5 km north-east of Kathmandu in
the eastern part of Kathmandu Valley, the capital of Nepal. The temple serves as the seat of Pashupatinath.
This temple complex was inscribed on the UNESCO World
Heritage Sites's list in
1979. This "extensive Hindu temple precinct" is a
"sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised
over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river" and is
included as one of the seven monument groups in UNESCO's designation of Kathmandu Valley as
visit here.
The
temple was created in the 5th century by Licchavi King Prachanda Dev after the previous building
was consumed by termites. Over time, many more temples have been erected
around this two -storied temple. These include the Vaishnava temple complex
with a Rama temple
from the 14th century and the Guhyeshwari
Temple mentioned in an
11th-century manuscript.
Pashupatinath
Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. It is not known for certain
when Pashupatinath Temple was built. But according to Nepal Mahatmaya and
Himvatkhanda, the deity here gained great fame there as Pashupati,
the Lord of all Pashus, which are living as well as non-living beings.
Pashupatinath Temple's existence dates back to 400 B.C.[citation needed] The richly ornamented pagoda houses the
sacred linga or holy symbol of Lord Shiva. There are many legends describing as
to how the temple of Lord Aalok Pashupatinath came to existence here.
The Cow:
Legend
says that Lord Shiva and Parvati once took the form of an antelope and sported
unknown in the forest on the Bagmati river's east bank. The gods later caught
up with him and grabbing him by one of his horns, forced him to resume his divine
form. The broken horn was worshipped as a Sivalinga but
over time it was buried and lost. Centuries later astonished herdsmen found one
of his cows showering the earth with milk. Digging deep at the site, he
discovered the divine linga of Pashupatinath.
The Licchavi:
According
to Gopalraj Aalok Vamsavali, the oldest ever chronicle in Nepal, this temple
was built by Prachanda Deva, a Licchavi King, who according to the stone
inscription erected by Jayadeva 11 in the courtyard of Pashupatinath in 753 AD,
happened to be the ruler 39 generations before Manadeva (464-505 AD).
The Devalaya:
Another
chronicle states that Pashupatinath Temple was in the form of Linga shaped
Devalaya before Supuspa Deva constructed a five-storey temple of Pashupatinath
in this place. As the time passed, the need for repairing and renovating this
temple arose. It is learnt that this temple was reconstructed by a medieval
King named Shivadeva (1099-1126 AD). It was renovated by Ananta Malla adding a
roof to it. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to pay
homage to this temple, that is also known as 'The Temple of Living Beings'.
Other beliefs:
There
are several complex stories involving the origins of Pashupatinath. One story
goes, in brief, that Shiva and Parvati came to the Kathmandu Valley and rested
by the Bagmati while on a journey. Shiva was so impressed by its beauty and the
surrounding forest that he and Parvati changed themselves into deer and walked
into the forest. Many spots in the Kathmandu Valley have been identified as
places where Shiva went during his time as a deer. After a while, the people
and gods began to search for Shiva. Finally, after various complications, they
found him in the forest, but he refused to leave. More complications ensued,
but ultimately Lord Shiva announced that, since he had lived by the Bagmati
river in a deer's form, he would now be known as Pashupatinath, Lord of all
animals. It is said that whoever came here and beheld the lingam that
appeared there would not be reborn as an animal.
Finding of Shiva Linga at
Pashupatinath Temple:
It
is said that the wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu took shelter in a cave on the
Chandravan mountain. Everyday Kamadhenu went down to the place where the lingam
was sunken into the soil and poured her milk on top of the soil. After a few
thousand years some people saw Kamadhenu pouring milk on that same spot every
day, and started to wonder what that would be. So they removed the soil and
found the beautiful shining lingam and started worshiping it.
Priest:
The
unique feature of this temple is that only 4 priests can touch the idol. Daily
rituals of Pashupatinath are carried out by two sets of priests; one being the
Bhatt priests and other Bhandari. Bhatta or Bhatt are the one who performs the
daily ritual and can touch the lingam, whereas Bhandaris are the helper and
temple caretaker priests who are not qualified to perform pooja rituals or to
touch the deity.
Bhatta:
Bhatta
also spelt as Bhat are highly educated Vedic Dravida Brahmin Scholars
from Karnataka. Unlike other Hindu temples, priesthood of Pashupatinath is not
hereditary. Priests are selected from a group of scholars educated by Shri
Shankaracharya Dakshinamnaya Peeth Sringeri on Rig Vedic Recitation,
initiated in Pashupata Yoga by Kashi Math,
Shiva Āgama and learned Recitation of Samaveda from Haridwar.
After qualifying and fulfilling all those criteria they are selected for
Priesthood by Raj Guru of Pashupatinath Temple undergoing strict examination on
Vedas and Shiva Agamas and then the chosen priest is sent to Kathmandu for
performing Puja and Daily Worship of Lord Shri Pashupatinath .
·
The unique
feature of this temple is that only 4 Bhatta priests can touch the deity.
Current Bhatt priests of the temple are;
·
Ganesh Bhat
(15th head priest of the Pashupatinath Temple aka Mool Bhat) from Udupi.
·
Ram Karanth Bhat
from Mangaluru.
·
Girish Bhat
from Sirsi.
·
Narayan
Bhat(Recently appointed) from Bhatkal
·
Raghavendra Bhat
(Priest for Vasuki Nath temple only)
Bhandaris:
Also
called Rajbhandari are the treasurers, temple caretakers, and
assistant priest of the temple. These Bhandaris are the descendants of
helper priests brought up by early Bhatts, but were allowed to settle in Kathmandu valley and
later assimilated in existing Newar caste of Rajbhandari - a high-caste
Chathariya/Kshatriya clan of Kashyapa gotra.
Their main function is to help the Bhatta priest and perform maintenance of the
inner Garbhagriha. They can have little or no Vedic knowledge but
still qualify as assistant priests if they belong from the same family lineage
and undergo some basic criteria like caste, gotra, lineage purity, educational
qualification, etc. They work in a set of three and change in every full moon
day. There are a total of 108 Bhandaris.
SALIENT
FEATURE:
·
The area of
Pashupatinath encompasses 0.64 hectares of land including 518 temples and
monuments.
·
Main pagoda
style temple is located in the fortified courtyard within the complex guarded
by Semi-Military Nepal Police and
Military Force Nepal Army and has a police outpost along with living
quarter within.
·
In front of the
western door, there is a huge statue Nandi bull, in bronze. Along with many
temples and shrines of both Vaishnav and saiva tradition.
·
This main temple
is built in the Nepalese pagoda style
of architecture.
·
All the features
of pagoda style are found here like cubic constructions, beautifully carved
wooden rafters on which they rest (tundal).
·
The two level
roofs are of copper with gold covering. The temple resides on a square base
platform with a height of 23m 7 cm from base to pinnacle.
·
It has four main
doors, all covered with silver sheets. This temple has a gold pinnacle (Gajur).
·
Inside are
two Garbhagrihas, outer and inner. The inner garbhagriha or sanctum
sanctorum is where the idol is placed and outer sanctum is an open corridor-like
space.
TEMPLE INFORMATION:
|
Moolavar |
Sri
Neelachalanathar |
|
Ambal |
Sri
Neeelambika |
|
Theertham |
Indra Theertham |
|
Sthala
Vriksham |
- |
BELIEF:
Devotees
pray here to get a good education, Business development and also child boon
from goddess, relief from marriage obstacles.
|
Tamil Month |
English Month |
Festival Name |
|
Avani |
Aug-Sept |
Vinayakar
Chaturthi |
|
Purattasi |
Sep-Oct |
Navarathri |
|
Karthikai |
Nov-Dec |
Thirukarthikai |
|
Maasi |
Feb-Mar |
Maha Shivrathri |
HOW
TO REACH:
There
are regular bus services from Kathmandu (from Ratna Park or City Bus Station)
to Patan. It takes approximately 45 minutes to reach Goshala, the
stop for Pashupatinath. .
TEMPLE
ADDRESS:
Sri Pashupatinath
Temple,
Indraneelaparvatam (Kathmandu),
Nepal.
LOCATION:
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