Birupakshya is the holy god of

Kirat people The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim ...

's located in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

erected by Kirati kings of ancient

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, believed to be an ancestor. It is also known as ''Kirateswor Mahadev''. Kirat people are diverse and therefore their beliefs and deities vary. Birupakshya is also worshipped in South India as Virupaksha. An idol of Virupaksha is located in the east of Pashupatinath Temple in the right bank of Bagmati river. Half of the body of Virupaksha lies inside ground and another half above. The statue is believed to be emerging out slowly. It is believed that the world will be destroyed if the whole statue will come out. Virupaksha is also called as ''kali'' because his full emergence will end the

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...

Mythology

There are various mythological stories related to Virupaksha originating from

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

and Mahapuranas. According to one mythology, Virupaksha is a god of kirat people and statue was built by kirati people of ancient Nepal. His statue is believed to be buried due to the earthquake in this version. In another story, Virupaksha is believed to be the chief of

Nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

s, the gatekeepers of lord shiva. Yet in another story related to Virupaksha is described as a children from a poor family. His father left home in search of work and didn't return. After few years when Virupaksha was seven years old, he went to search his father. Few years passed but he could not find his father. One day he went to a cave to take shelter where he met a lady. It was night and he could not recognize her and had a sexual relationship with her. In the morning when he saw the lady, he was shocked to see his own mother. It is believed that from that day, Kaliyuga started. Filled of guilt Virupaksha went to Pashupatinath temple where he saw lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

preparing some intoxication. Shiva told him to open the lid of hot utensil. While opening the lid, Virupaksha's face got burnt by the heat of copper vessel. His face became black from which he got the name ''Kurup''. He cursed lord shiva and went to Buddha who was meditating nearby. Buddha gave him a garland and asked him to chant until the garland wilted. He started chanting near the

Bagmati river , "Tiger Gate") , source1_location = Shivapuri, Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Nepal , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , mouth = Confluence with Kamala River , mouth_location = Jagmohra, Bihar, India , mouth_coord ...

. He got frustrated after a long chanting because garland did not wilt so he left for his home. On the way to home, he saw a boy was scratching iron rod. Virupaksha asked the boy why he was doing that. The boy replied that he wanted to make a needle to sew his torn clothes. Inspired by the boy's determination, Virupaksha returned to meditate. When people saw him chanting with Buddha's garland in Pashupati premises, they buried him in the ground because he had insulted Shiva earlier. It is believed that Virupaksha will take revenge with the people of earth when he will be released from the ground.

References

{{Reflist Asian gods Pashupatinath Temple