Pashupatinath Temple

Location Details

Temple name – Lord Pashupatinath Temple

Main deity – Lord Shiva

Location – Kathmandu, Nepal

Introduction

Listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Lord Pashupatinath Temple is the largest Hindu temple in the world. Lord Pashupatinath Temple is located in Deopatan, near Kathmandu and is situated on the banks of River Bagmati. The temple dates back to 400 A.D. and is considered as one of the greatest Shiva Temples in the continent.

Deity Worshipped

The principal deity of Lord Pashupatinath Temple is Lord Shiva in the form of Lord Pashupatinath. The unique Shiva Linga of the Lord Pashupatinath Temple depicts the five faces of Lord Shiva, which essentially represents the five elements of life. The five faces are named as follows:

o Tatpurush (East Faced)

o Aghor (South Faced)

o Bamdev or Uma Maheswara (West faced)

o Saddhyojat or Barun (North faced)

o Ishan (Top) – considered the most significant of the five faces.

‘Pashu’ literally means living beings and ‘Pati’ means master, therefore the name Pashupati signifies Lord Shiva or the master of the world.

The tantra tradition is practiced till date in Lord Pashupatinath Temple and is considered as one of its nodal points. The practice of tantric rites is particularly significant during the special festival of Pancha Bali, a ritualistic sacrifice offered to Bhairav (a tantric form of Lord Shiva).

Archeological facts

There is no certain evidence in existence about the history of Lord Pashupatinath Temple. It is also believed that Adi Shankara had visited the temple and worshipped here for a certain period of time. The worship of Shiva has been prevalent in Nepal since the Neolithic age as was the prevalence of Tantric rites.

As per Bidya Nath Upadhyaya, Acharya of Sanskrit from Banaras Hindu University, “Tantra was a way of life in Nepal in the yesteryears. Ancient cities in the Kathmandu valley were designed in such a way that gods surrounded the cities and people lived in the center, protected by them. A bird’s eye view would show that a city would be shaped like a khadga (sword) or some other shape with a meaning behind it. There still exist many sites of Tantric worship in Kathmandu”. A certain number of monolithic pedestals and sculptures have also been excavated from in and around the region.

History

The origins of Lord Pashupatinath Temple are not certain and as per some accounts the origins of the temple may be stated as follows:

o Pashupreksha of Somadeva dynasty is believed to have built the temple in the 3^rd Century B.C.

o As per Gopalraj Vamsavali, the temple was built by Supus Padeva of the Lichchhavi Dynasty. It was later renovated by King Shivadeva and Ananta Malla.

o After the destruction and plunder by Sultan Samsuddin of Bengal in the 14^th Century, the temple was renovated and reconstructed by Javasimha Ramvardhana in 1360 A.D and Jyoti Malla in 1460 A.D.

o The current form of the temple was given by Bhupendra Malla in 1697 and was later renovated by Queen Gangadevi.

Scriptural references

As per Nepal Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda, Lord Shiva was tired of staying at his palace atop the Mt. Kailash and later chose the Kathmandu Valley as his retreat. He became very popular in the region as the Lord of the Animals and hence was known as Pashupatinath. The other Gods were searching for Lord Shiva and were finally able to locate him in the valley. As soon as Lord Shiva learned about this he disguised himself as a deer and ran away. Lord Vishnu managed to grasp his horn and as soon as he touched it, it was shattered to pieces. The broken horn was later installed in a temple, which with the passage of time was buried under the earth. On a certain day, a cow let out some milk on the area and the cow herders soon dug out the earth and discovered the temple.

As per another reference, Goddess Parvati had sacrificed herself after her father had disrespected Lord Shiva. The aggrieved Lord Shiva carried the body of Goddess Parvati on his shoulders and roamed around. The pieces from the body of Goddess Parvati fell around at various places and one of them fell at the Guhyeshvari area near to the Pashupatinath Temple complex.

Lord Vishnu, in the form of Lord Buddha started meditating on the Mandihatu Mountain atop burning fires. The intense meditation yielded the River Manimati and also pleased Goddess Parvati, who appeared in the form of the Buddhist Goddess Vajrayogini. Goddess Parvati granted the wish of Lord Buddha that both the devotees of Lord Shiva as well as Buddha would reside in the region harmoniously. Goddess Parvati also directed Lord Buddha to establish a Lingam at the confluence of River Manmati and River Bagmati. Thus the idol of Karunikeshvara was installed here.

Cultural Significance

Lord Pashupatinath Temple is of immense cultural as well as religious significance. The temple is one of the most important Shiva temples in the world as well as the largest Hindu temple in the world. Numerous Shiva Lingams have also been discovered in the region. The temple is also of great symbolic significance since it plays a crucial role in the unification of the Nepali Hindus and other Hindus across the world. As per statistics, this temple is believed to unite 86% of the Hindus of Nepal.

Temple Details

Built in the Nepalese Pagoda style of architecture, Pashupatinath Temple has four main doors, all of them wrapped in silver sheets. A large statue of Nandi is Bronze plated. The temple also has a Gold Pinnacle which essentially symbolizes religious thought.

The shape of the temple is square and the Gods of the temple face specific directions i.e. Bhairav is south faced, Lord Ganesh is east faced, Lord Naryana is west faced and the Nawadurga is north faced. The Lingam currently present in the temple was installed later after the original Lingam was vandalized by Sultan Samsuddin of Bengal. The priests of the temple are known as Bhattas and the chief priest of the temple is known as Mool Bhatt or Raval. The River Bagmati flows alongside the temple.

Festivals

The festivals celebrated in the Lord Pashupatinath Temple are as follows:

o Maha Shivaratri- The most important festival of the temple.

o Ekadasi

o Sankranti

o Rakshabandhan

o Teej Akshaya- Thousands of women devotees visit the temple to take a holy bath in the River Bagmati.

o Grahana

o Poornima

Address and contact details

Secretary,

Shri Pashupatinath Temple Management Committee,