Kaathe Swayambhu Shree Gha Chaitya (Nepali:काठे स्वयम्भु श्री घ: चैत्य) is a miniature replica of

Swayambhunath Swayambhu (Devanagari: स्वयम्भू स्तूप; new, स्वयंभू; sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the ...

. It was built around 1650AD and is one of the popular Tibetan pilgrimage site in

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

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 ...

. The stupa is also called ''Shree Gha-Shanti Ghat Bhajradhatu Mahachaitya'' or ''Kathesimbhu stupa'' or ''Kashi Swayambhu''. The main stupa is surrounded by smaller chaityas inscriptions, statutes and an ancient cloister similar to Tibetan monastery. A statue of Avalokiteshvara lies before the stupa. The pilgrims who can't make a visit to the Swayambhunath Temple can equally benefit by visiting it. The 13 steps on the spire stood of the stupa signifies the 13 stages to reach

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

Mythology

According to the legends, when Acharya Vak-vajra of Kwa-baha was on pilgrimage along the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

river was asked to consecrate a chaitya built by the king of Benaras. Vak-vajra sprinkled water from the Ganges over the monument. However, his power was not believed by the king. To show his power, Vak-vajra then sat in meditation, lifted the chaitya and transported it to its present location in Kathmandu. Another legend says, the stupa was constructed using the materials left after the construction of Swayambhunath stupa.

History

The stupa is mentioned in an inscription of 1552AD (

Nepal Sambat Nepal Sambat, also spelled as Nepala Sambata, (Nepal Bhasa: , Nepali: ) is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newari people of Nepal. The Calendar era began on 20 October 879 AD, with 1142 in Nepal Sambat corresponding to the year 2021–2022 A ...

762). It says that the golden pinnacle of the chaitya was donated by Megharaja in memory of his deceased son. He also established the

guthi Gosthi or Guthi ('';'' Newar: , romanized: '; etymologically from ) is a social organization that maintains the socio-economic order of Nepalese society.Title:नेपाली संस्कृतिका छटाहरु, Author:Mangala De ...

to perform annual commemoration. This guthi is closely related to the priests of nearby Kwa-baha. The stupa was repaired during the reign of king

Pratap Malla Pratap Malla (1624–74 A.D.) was King of Kantipur from 1641 until his death in 1674. He attempted to unify Kathmandu Valley by conquering Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, but failed in the effort. He was successful in extending and securing the borders ...

(1624–74 AD). In 1647, the chaitya was de-consecrated, but restored by

Vajracharya A vajrācārya (vajra + acharya, Tib. རྡོ་རྗེ་སློབ་དཔོན་, ''dorje lopön'', Wyl. ''rdo rje slob dpon,'' Jp. “kongō ajari” 金剛阿闍梨) is a Vajrayana Buddhist master, guru or priest. It is a general ...

in 1653.

Festival

A festival on the full moon of Asoj (September – October) is held mainly by the Shakyas of Ason near the stupa.

References

{{Reflist Buddhist temples in Nepal Stupas in Nepal 17th-century establishments in Nepal

Mythology

History

Festival

Further reading

See also

References