Pashupatinath temple

      Pashupatinath  temple 

Location : kathmandu,nepal

                                             

 Pashupatinath Temple which a sacred place for hindhu's is  located on both the banks  of   river bagmati. which is approximately 5 kilometres north-east of  Kathmandu , the capital of nepal . The temple serves as the seat of Nepal’s national deity, Lord shive [pashupathi] who is the lord of all pashus . This temple complex was inscribed on the  UNESCO World Heritage Sites  list in 1979, and is included as one of the seven monument groups in UNESCO's designation of kathmandu valley as a cultural heritage site.Maha Shivarathri is the most auspisious day for the devotees of pashupathi,on this day more than 800,000 devotees visits the temple .Along with maha shivarathri , Teej and  Bala Chaturdashi were also celebrated as other important festivals .

History :

 Jyotirlingam which is a devotional representation of the god shiva are total 12 in number in and around india   jyothi means "light: and lingam means "image of shiva". jyothirlingm is the "radiant sign of lord shiva " .

 12 jyothirlingams [body parts of shiva]  which were in india were the  body parts of shiva where as  the jyothirlingam at pashupathinath is head .

 Accordhing to Shiva Mahapuranam  once Brahma and Vishu  had an argument over supremacy of creation., Supreme God shiva who wanted to end the argument  pierced the three worlds appearing as a huge Infinite Pillar of Light, the Jyotirlinga which later cooled into the Holy Mountain annamalia. Vishnu and Brahma split their ways  to find the end of the light in either directions. Brahma lied that he found out the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat.This lie of Brahma angered Shiva making him curse Brahma that even though he is the creator of the universe he would not be worshipped. The jyotirlinga is the Supreme Siva, partless reality, out of which Shiva appeared in another Form, Lingodbhava. The jyothirlinga shrines are Temples where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.

Originally there were believed to be 64 jyothirlingas while 13 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy along with pashupatinath temple.

Though Pashupatinath temple was built in olden eras its existence was known back in 400 B.C.There are several complex stories involving the origins of Pashupatinath like The Cow Legend,The devalaya legend etc.

It is believed  that the wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu took shelter in a cave on the Chandravan mountain. Everyday Kamadhenu went down to the place 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.

Architecture and Style : 

The Pashupatinath is Built in a total ares of  264 hectares of land including 518 temples and monuments, there is a huge statue Nandi bull , which was made of bronze . Along with many temples and shrines of both Vaishnav and saiva tradition.

Temples and Shrines in pashupatinath :

12 jyotirlinga and Pandra Shivalaya 

184 Shivaling shrine 

Budanil Kantha Shrine 

Guhyeshwari temple

Hanuman shrine 

Kirti Mukh nhairav shrine

Ram mandir 

Surna narayana temple

Unmatta Bhairav temple

Vasuki Nath temple

Virat swaroop temple

This main temple in Pashupatinath temple  is built in the Nepalese pagoda  style of architecture. All the features of pagoda style are found here .The two level roofs are of copper with gold covering. The temple resides on a square base platform .The the main idol is a stone Mukhalinga with a silver Yoni  base bound with the silver serpent. The lingam is one metre high and has faced in four directions.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 .

Tourism:                                                                               

The big  Maha Shivaratri festival in spring attracts hundreds of thousands of devotees from within Nepal and from India.Pashupatinath is also one of the very few living cultural heritage sites in the world. Unlike other cultural sites or museums, Pashupatinath is centre of energy with active participation of people all times of the day, every day.People arrive here to find shelter for the last several weeks of their lives, to meet death, be cremated on the banks of the river and travel their last journey with the waters of the sacred river Bagmati, which later meets the holy river Ganges. Hinduists from every corner of Nepal and India are arriving here to die.Pashupatinath Temple is one of the 8  UNESCO Cultur Heritage Sites of Kathmandu valley .

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