Pimbahal Pond (also known as Pimbahaa Pukhoo, and Pim Bahal Pokhari; ) is an artificial

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

located in

Lalitpur, Nepal Lalitpur Metropolitan City, historically Patan ( sa, पाटन ''Pāṭana'', Nepal bhasa : '' Yela'', ), is the fourth most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bharatpur, and it is located in the south-central part of Kat ...

(historically known as Patan). According to Nepalese folklore, the pond was built by

Lakhey Lākhey (Nepal Bhasa: लाखे or , lā-khé) (alternative spellings Lākhe, Lākhay, ) is the dance of a demon in the carnival of God. Durbar Square, a historic plaza in Kathmandu, Nepal, facing ancient palaces and adorned by Hindu templ ...

s, a type of demon. In 1967, the Nepalese government tried to turn the pond into a market, but received local resistance. Pimbahal Pond was destroyed due to the

1934 Nepal–India earthquake The 1934 Nepal–India earthquake or 1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake was one of the worst earthquakes in India's history. The towns of Munger and Muzaffarpur were completely destroyed. This 8.0 magnitude earthquake occurred on 15 January 1934 ...

and the

April 2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8 Mw or 8.1 Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (''Extreme ...

. But was rebuilt after those incidents.

History

There are various legends concerning how the pond was built. One says that around the 14th century, Pimbahal was just empty ground. During the day, it was an active place but at night, it was said to be wandered by

s, a type of demon in Nepalese folklore. Lakheys would come every night and make loud noises, break into homes, scare children and cause a disturbance in the area. Local resident Gaya Baje became annoyed by their acts, so he used his magical powers to control them and made them dig a pond at Pimbahal because "as long as the ground existed, the Lakheys would keep coming". According to another legend, Lakhey's wife had to travel far away to get water during wintertime because the taps would run dry. There were no ponds in Lalitpur during that time and, not wanting to see his wife have to walk far, the demon built the Pimbahal Pond in one night. The

devastated the pond. The pond's restoration model was reportedly based on a painting by Henry Ambrose Oldfield. In 1967, the Government of Nepal attempted to build a market on top of the pond which led to local resistance; as a result, the government backed down. By 2014, the pond was reported to be in a neglected state and the city was having difficulty maintaining it. On the north side of the pond, there is a Chandeswari Temple dating back to 1663 and also near Pimbahal Pond there a stupa that was damaged by Muslim invaders in 1357. The

damaged the pond, but in 2017, the pond was restored to its original look. Pimbahal Pond is one of the well-known ponds of Lalitpur.

References

{{Reflist Ponds in Kathmandu Valley Lalitpur District, Nepal 14th-century establishments in Nepal