Kumbheshwar Temple ( ne, कुम्भेश्वर मन्दिर) is one of the oldest Hindu temples, situated 200m from the northern part of

Patan Durbar Square Patan Durbar Square is situated at the centre of the city of Lalitpur in Nepal. It is one of the three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of its attractions is the ancient royal palace wher ...

. It was built in the 14th century (around 1392) by King

Jayasthiti Malla Jayasthitimalla (or Jayasthiti Malla) ( ne, जयस्थिति मल्ल) was a 14th-century king of Nepal belonging to the Malla dynasty. He is known as the best successor of the whole Malla dynasty. He was of Tirhut origins and had ma ...

that makes it the oldest temple in Patan. It is one of the two free-standing five-storied temples, the other being the famous

Nyatapola temple Nyātāpola (Newar language, Nepal Bhasa: , "''ṅātāpola''", ) is a five tiered temple located in the central part of Bhaktapur, Nepal. It is the tallest monument within the city and is also the tallest temple of Nepal. This temple was commiss ...

Bhaktapur , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...

. The temple is noted for its graceful proportions and fine woodcarvings and is dedicated to

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 ...

, as indicated by the large

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

, or bull, facing the temple.

Temple complex

The Kumbheshwar Temple lies in a

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

that includes many other structures:

Bagalamukhi Baglamukhi or Bagalā ( sa, बगलामुखी) is the female form of a personification of the mahavidyas (great wisdom/science), a group of ten Tantrik deities in Hinduism. Devi Bagalamukhi smashes the devotee's misconceptions and delusi ...

(बगलामुखी मन्दिर), Ulmanta Bhairava (उल्मान्त भैरव) and two hiti ponds among the most notable ones. It is a popular belief that the water spring that fills the ponds originates all the way from

Gosainkunda Gosaikunda, also spelled Gosainkunda, also called Silu. is an alpine freshwater oligotrophic lake in Nepal's Langtang National Park, located at an elevation of in the Rasuwa District with a surface of . Together with associated lakes, the Gosaik ...

, which is located 43 kilometers north of

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

. So taking a dip in the pond during the festival Janai Purnima (जनै पुर्णिमा) is equivalent to doing the same in

.Water Conduits in the Kathmandu Valley (2 vols.) by Raimund O.A. Becker-Ritterspach, , Published by Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 1995

’s mount, the bull

is kneeling in front of the main Kumbheshwor Temple. High above the wooden roof tiers look as if they might topple over on this five-story building.

Gallery

File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5101.jpg, Temple with sattal, Misha Hiti, Konti Hiti and Kumbheshwar Pokhari File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5153.jpg, Five storey

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

style Kumbheshwor Temple File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5111.jpg, Sattal that serves as main entrance File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5145.jpg, Sattal seen from the inside File:Bangalamukhi temple complex IMG 2840 (18551006476).jpg, Temple door

References

{{Hindu temples in Nepal Patan Durbar Square Hindu temples in Lalitpur District, Nepal 14th-century establishments in Nepal Newa architecture