Maula Kalika ( ne, मौलाकालिका मन्दिर, ) is a famous

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple of Goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

ka in

Gaindakot Gaindakot (, ; sometimes spelled Gaidakot) is a municipality in Nawalpur District in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. It became a municipality in May 2014 by merging the existing Mukundapur, Amarapuri, and Gaindakot VDCs. It was again expand ...

town of

Nawalpur district Nawalpur (, ne, नवलपुर, ) or (Nawalparasi east of Bardaghat Susta) is a district located in Gandaki Province of Nepal. It is 1 out of 11 districts of Gandaki Province. The headquarter of the district is Kawasoti. Formally Nawalpur D ...

Gandaki province Gandaki Province ( ne, गण्डकी प्रदेश ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borde ...

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 ...

. Located on the top of the ''Mauladada or Maula hill'' on the north of

Narayani River Narayani may refer to: * Narayani (deity), another name for Lakshmi * Narayani, an epithet of Yogamaya * Narayani River, or Gandaki River, in Nepal * Narayani Temple, in Narayani village, near Khalikote, Odisha, India * Narayani Zone, a former admi ...

(also called

Gandaki River The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and the Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area amounts to , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, it is notabl ...

) in Gaindakot, Maula Kalika temple is situated above sea level.

History

Historically, it is said that in the 16th century the King of Palpa created a symbolic offering site ("Maula") in the name of goddess Kalika after which the name of the mountain (Maula hill) was derived. It is believed, in

mythology that the Goddess

ka also called

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

is the symbol of energy, power and new beginning. The temple has been renovated several times by the local people. The base area has been widened to adjust for more visitors. The temple management has lately decided to stop sacrificing the animals.

Popularity

Local people in Gaindakot have been worshipping at the Maula Kalika for many centuries before it got widespread popularity. The current temple was built in the early 1990s. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Maula Kalika every year from Nepal and neighbouring countries.

Dashain Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Bijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gur ...

festival in September–October and in March–April are peak seasons when the goddess Kalika or

(also called Nav Durga, the 9 different incarnations of Goddess Kalika) is worshipped during these festive seasons. Former

President of Nepal The president of Nepal ( ne, नेपालको राष्ट्रपति, translit=Nēpālakō Rāṣṭrapati) is the head of state of Nepal and the commander-in-chief of the Nepalese Armed Forces. The president is indirectly elected ...

Dr.

Ram Baran Yadav Ram Baran Yadav ( mai, डा. राम वरण यादव) is a Nepali politician and physician who served as the first president of Nepal from 23 July 2008 to 29 October 2015, following the declaration of a republic in 2008. Previously h ...

, former King/Princes and High Ranking Government Officials including Finance Minister Ram Saran Mahat of

have visited the temple. World-famous

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

guru Baba

Ramdev Ramdev (born Ram Kisan Yadav in 1965), also referred to by his followers with the honorifics Baba or Swami, is an Indian yoga guru, businessman and brand ambassador for Patanjali Ayurved. Ramdev is primarily known for being a proponent of yog ...

from India visited the temple in 2011. Nepal's First women president Shrimati

Bidhya Devi Bhandari Bidya Devi Bhandari (, ; born 19 June 1961) is a Nepali politician who is serving as the second and current president of Nepal. She formerly served as the minister of defence and minister of environment and population. She is the first woman t ...

visited the temple on 20 April 2016 and inaugurated the temples residential facilities.

Hiking

Regular visitors from Gaindakot and nearby

Chitwan Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers . In 2011 it had a population of 579 ...

choose this place as a destination to enhance their leisure time with the feel of the cool breeze, observation of wide panoramic views of wilderness, and the exciting adventure of walking through 500 meters long sloping and curving stairs to attain the height of the final destination. View from maula kalika temple

Visitors enjoy panoramic views of

, Gaindakot town and

Chitwan Valley The Chitwan Valley ( ne, चितवन उपत्यका) is an Inner Terai valley in the south of Nepal, encompassing the districts of Makwanpur, Chitwan and Nawalpur. The valley is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion of ...

on the south of the hill. Mt.

Manaslu Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Mana ...

can be viewed on the north side. Hikers also prefer to visit the temple for the sunrise view early in the morning. It takes less than half a day for a round trip hiking from Narayangarh town traveling on foot. From the bottom of the Maula hill, it only requires less than 4 hours to go up and down. Mineral water and refreshments are available on the way, near Deurali where there is a helipad too.

Connectivity

Nepal Telecom Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd. ( ne, नेपाल दूरसञ्चार कम्पनी लिमिटेड), popularly known as Nepal Telecom ( ne, नेपाल टेलिकम) or NTC, is a state-owned telecommunications se ...

has installed a wireless transceiver tower. You can enjoy GSM, CDMA phone calls and 3G connectivity. Even the signals are good for your roaming services.

Water Supply and electricity

An automated hydraulic pressure continuously pumps water to the peak. The equipment is installed on the northern slope, 500 meters down. Water supply is continuous and unmonitored. It has pole-based electricity wires pulled through the base of Gaindakot.

Transportation

The visitors to the temple can several options to reach the top. If you have small-sized vehicles, you can leave them at the parking facilities. Public transportation is available from several connecting locations nearby the area to the base of the mountain.

Foot Trails

Walking/climbing the hill is a popular way to get there. The foot trails were maintained by local labour contributions. It takes about 30 minutes for experts and about 2 hours for newcomers to reach the top. You can enjoy the sightseeing, shop for fruits, and drink natural water or rest in those foot trails.

Cable Car

The infrastructures for the Cable Car are under construction since 2021.

By Air

The closest domestic airport is

Bharatpur Airport Bharatpur Airport ( ne, भरतपुर विमानस्थल) s a domestic airport located in Bharatpur serving Chitwan District, a district in Bagmati Province in Nepal. The airport is one of two airports in the vicinity of Bharatp ...

, where daily flights are available to and from

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

and

Pokhara Pokhara ( ne, पोखरा, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. It is the List of cities in Nepal, second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 518,452 inhabitants living ...

. It takes less than an hour from Kathmandu airport (Tribhuvan International Airport) to reach Bharatpur (near Gaindakot) on air. The temple area has a Helipad as well within a few minutes' walking distances (called Deurali).

Social Issues

Visiting the temple is considered for several reasons.

Funding

The temple receives continuous donations from several parties, business persons, and from family members in memories of lost relatives or parents. The fund is used for the maintenance of the territory. If the donation reaches some minimum standard of amount, the donor's name will be printed on a marble board for permanent records to display to the public. The temple raises the funds through such activities: * Forest handover from

Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल सरकार) is the federal executive authority of Nepal. Prior to the abolition of the Nepali monarchy in 2006 (became republic in 2008), it was officially known as His Majesty's Government. T ...

* Regional development funds * Labor Force contribution by

Nepalese Army The Nepali Army ( ne, नेपाली सेना, translit=Nēpālī Sēnā), technically the Gorkhali Army ( ne, गोरखाली सेना, translit=Gōrakhālī Sēnā, label=none; see ''Gorkhas''), is the land service branch ...

and

Nepal Police Nepal Police is the national and primary law enforcement agency of Nepal. It is primarily responsible for maintaining law and order, prevention of crime and crime investigation within the jurisdiction determined by the Constitution of Nepal. ...

* Various forms of donations * Rents collection from physical infrastructures * Pigeons sales * Sales of worshipped items * Lifetime memberships * Interests received from Fixed deposits

Cultural Benefits

People of any religious background are welcome. This gives a lot of chances to union with friends, relatives, tourists and anyone interested in the historic beliefs. The foot trails and temple areas are very busy during the religious seasons. About 18,000 people visit this area per day during the peak seasons.

Photo Gallery

Stone carvings and arts on the Maulakalika temple foot trail. File:Stone carving1.jpg, File:Stone carving3.jpg, File:Stone carving4.jpg, File:Stone carving5.jpg, File:Stone carving6.jpg, File:Stone carving7.jpg, File:Stone carving8.jpg, File:Stone Carving11.jpg, File:Stone carving12.jpg, File:Stone Carving 2.jpg, File:Stone carving9 2.jpg, File:Stone carving and art's..jpg, File:Stone carving 3.jpg,

References

External links

Maula Kalika Temple Official Homepage in Nepali Language

Maula Kalika Temple background in Nepali Language
{{Hindu temples in Nepal , state=collapsed Kali temples Hindu temples in Gandaki Province Tourist attractions in Nepal Buildings and structures in Nawalpur District 1990s establishments in Nepal