Dharma Man Tuladhar ( ne, धर्ममान तुलाधर) (August 4, 1862 – August 24, 1938) was a Nepalese trader and philanthropist best known for the renovation of the

Swayambhu Swayambhu ( sa, स्वयंभू) is a Sanskrit word that means "self-manifested", "self-existing", or "that is created by its own accord". Often, the word swayambhu is used to describe a self-manifested image of a deity, which was not made ...

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

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

, one of the holiest Buddhist shrines in Nepal. Popularly known as Dhaman Sahu (), Tuladhar headed the restoration project which lasted from 1918 to 1921. This was the last complete renovation of Swayambhu before the recent restoration project which was finished in 2010.

Business in Tibet

Tuladhar Tulādhar (Devanagari: तुलाधर) is a Nepali/Nepalese caste from the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The name Tuladhar is derived from the Sanskrit words "tula" (weighing scale) and "dhar" (possessor), thus meaning scale ...

belonged to the Nyata () branch of Tuladhars. He was born in Nyata in the western part of Kathmandu and moved to Tanlachhi () in the early 1900s. His wife was Hera Laxmi Tuladhar. His father Buddha Bir Singh Tuladhar owned a business house in

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

known as Chhusingsyar with branches in

Gyantse Gyantse, officially Gyangzê Town (also spelled Gyangtse; ; ), is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region ( ...

and

Phari Phari or Pagri (; ) is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan () known as Tremo La. the town had a popula ...

and in

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

in India. Tuladhar traveled to Lhasa and lived there many years engaged as a trader. Following his return to Kathmandu in 1898, he devoted himself to supporting Buddhist causes. He also hosted Tibetan lamas coming to Kathmandu on pilgrimage and made arrangements for them to give religious discourses, most notably Kyangtse Lama who arrived in Kathmandu in 1924.

Restoration of Swayambhu

A Tibetan lama Sarvasri (Tokden) Sakyasri provided the inspiration to undertake the restoration of Swayambhu which Tuladhar began in 1918 after obtaining permission from the king and the prime minister. Tuladhar was one of the major donors to the project. Lamas and devotees from Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim also made large contributions. The entire stupa was refurbished. The spire was dismantled and redone. The central shaft was renewed. Tuladhar sponsored the renovation of the upper portion of the stupa while brothers Harsha Sundar, Ram Sundar and

Pushpa Sundar Tuladhar Pushpa Sundar Tuladhar ( ne, पुष्पसुन्दर तुलाधर; 1885-1935) was a prominent merchant of Kathmandu and one of the chief donors to the restoration of the Swayambhu stupa in 1918. Swayambhu, a UNESCO World Heritag ...

Asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown into th ...

Dhalasikwa, Kathmandu bore the expenses of the nine shrines around its base. The five Buddha shrines set into the dome were covered with gilt copper, a new statue of

Vairocana Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...

Buddha was installed, and four new shrines were built to house statues of Tara. A row of prayer wheels were also installed all around the stupa. The chief engineer of the project was

Jogbir Sthapit Jogbir Sthāpit ( ne, जोगवीर स्थापित) (alternative names: Joglāl Sthāpit, Bhāju Mān Sthāpit and Jogbir Nāyo) (1838–1926) was a renowned Nepalese architect best known as the designer of Narayanhiti Royal Palace an ...

. The restoration lasted three years. Newar Buddhist priests and Tibetan lamas conducted separate religious ceremonies at Swayambhu before work began and after it was completed.

Renovation of Kindo Baha

In 1926, Tuladhar sponsored the renovation of

Kindo Baha Kindo Baha ( new, किन्द्व: बहा:), also known as Kinnu Bāhā, Kindol Bāhāl or Kimdol Bāhāl, is a vihara in Kathmandu which was the hub for the resurgence of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal from the 1920s to the 1940s. Loca ...

, a 17th-century monastic courtyard located at the foot of Swayambhu hill, which was in near ruins. The monastery became a major center of

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

in the subsequent years. The movement to revive Theravada Buddhism in Nepal began here. The government cracked down by expelling the resident monks out of the country.

Imprisonment

Tuladhar's contribution to the revival of Theravada Buddhism angered the government. In 1931, he was fined with 11 other people including Buddhist teacher

Dhammalok Mahasthavir Dhammalok Mahasthavir ( ne, धम्मालोक महास्थविर) (born Das Ratna Tuladhar) (16 January 1890 – 17 October 1966) was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who worked to revive Theravada Buddhism in Nepal in the 1930s and 1 ...

and poets

Chittadhar Hridaya Chittadhar Hridaya ( ne, चित्तधर हृदय; born Chittadhar Tuladhar; 19 May 1906 – 9 June 1982) was a Nepalese poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest literary figures from Nepal in the 20th century. The title of Kavi Kes ...

and

Yogbir Singh Kansakar Yogbir Singh Kansakar ( ne, योगवीरसिं कंसकार) (alternative name: Jogbir Singh Kansakar) (16 April 1885 - 29 March 1942) was a Nepalese poet, social reformer and one of the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. He worked to ...

for spreading an "unorthodox religion".LeVine, Sarah and Gellner, David N. (2005). ''Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal.'' Harvard University Press. , . Pages 40-41.

Legacy

Dharma Man Tuladhar died at his home in Kathmandu in 1938. A stone stupa dedicated to his memory was built and consecrated in 1941 on the east side of the Shantipur Temple at Swayambhu.

References