The Kumbheshwar temple complex is one of the oldest and busiest religious place of the old Patan town lying on its northern part. The major deities whose temple or shrine lies within the complex includes
Kumbheshwor Mahadev,
Bangalamukhi, Unmanta Bhairava, Gaurikunda, Harati, Manakamana, Kedarnath, Badrinath. The complex houses a natural spring which fills the adjoining ponds, the source of which is said to be
Gosaikunda Lake in
Rasuwa District
Rasuwa District ( ne, रसुवा जिल्ला is one of 13 districts of Bagmati Province and one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhunche as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population ( ...
. It is therefore believed that taking a dip in the pond during the festival of Janai Purnima (जनै पुर्णिमा) is equivalent to doing the same in
Gosainkunda.
How Patan ( Lalitpur) got its name from Kumbheshwar
The story goes that a farmer with leprosy from Kathmandu came here because the grass was better for his cow. One day he struck his wooden pole into the ground and discovered a water source. That evening on his way back he saw the king passing by. He stepped off the road as was the custom for someone with leprosy. The king, however, saw no trace of the disease. Indeed the king found the man so handsome that he gave him a new name "Lalit" (ललित) or handsome. The king knew a miracle had occurred and asked Lalit what happened. Lalit showed the king where he found the water source and the king pronounced that a hiti (हिटी) (meaning tap) should be placed there. Thus, the place was called Lalitpur (ललितपुर) (meaning the land of fine arts and fine people). Another story tells of a man who lost his water vessel on a pilgrimage who found it again at the Kumbheshwar. The word
Kumbha
A kumbha ( sa, कुम्भ) is a type of pottery in India. Traditionally, it is made by Kumbhars, also known as ''Prajapati''s.
In the context of Hindu, Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism tra ...
in Kumbheshwar means "water vessel". Whether any of the above is anything more than legend is up for debate. The fact that there is a water source from the Himalayan mountains (
Gosainkunda) at Kumbheshwar may yet be another contributing factor. Perhaps
Patan got its name from all of the above combined.
Temples within the Complex
Kumbheshwar Temple
The main Kumbheshwar Temple is one of the only two free-standing five-storied temples (other being the
Nyatapola Temple in
Bhaktapur
, motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture
, image_map ...
in Kathmandu valley. It was originally constructed as two storied shrine by King
Jayasthiti Malla in around 14th century. The additional 3 stories were given by King Srinivas Malla during 17th century.
Bangalamukhi temple
Bagalamukhi is one of the most famous
Shakti Peeths of the Kathmandu valley and is visited by a large number of devotees especially on Thursdays. The goddess is known as the one who fulfills the devotees’ wishes. The inner shrine is carved with silver.
Other structures
Besides the other temples and shrines within the complex includes:
* Badrinath Temple
* Char-Narayan Temple
* Gaurikund Temple houses the water spring whose source is believed to be
Gosaikunda Lake
* Harati temple
* Kedarnath Temple
* Kumbeshwar Pokhari, one of the ponds within the complex
* Misha Hiti, another pond within the complex
Major Festivals
Kumbeshwar Mela or
Janai Purnima
List of festivals celebrated in Nepal:
Main festivals
Dashain
''Dashain'' ( ne, दशैं , also ''Baḍādaśhãin'' or ''Bijayā Daśamī'' ne, बिजया दशमी) is the 15-day-long festival and holidays of Nepal. It is the ...
Mela (usually August full moon) is one of the major festival where around 2 Lakhs devotees come to worship the embossed silver sheath worn by the temples sacred linga (phallic symbol), which is placed in a special pavilion in the middle of the tank in the hub temple. Also the Kumbeshwar Pokhari (pond) is filled with water for the Mela.
Similarly, various other rituals like “
Lakh batti Lighting a Lakh Batti(Devnagari:लाख बत्ती) is a Hindu tradition performed by the devotees wishing to get their wishes fulfilled by any deity of their choice. The devotee can pledge to light ''Lakh Batti'' literally meaning 100,000 l ...
”,”Bhoj”,”Bhajan” “Baratabanda”, “Marriage Ceremony”, “Gupha rakhni ceremony” etc. are periodically organized by local people at the temple complex. The temple complex also have an open space garden to cater rituals for private purpose which became one of the major financial source of temple.
References
External links
{{Commons cat inline, Bangalamukhi temple complex (Nepal)
Hindu temples in Lalitpur District, Nepal
14th-century establishments in Nepal