Pranidhipurna Mahavihar ( ne, प्रणिधिपूर्ण महाविहार) is a Theravada

Buddhist monastery Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Balambu Balambu is a village and former Village Development Committee (Nepal), Village Development Committee that is now part of Chandragiri Municipality in Kathmandu District in Province No. 3 of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had ...

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

which was a key base in the revival of

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

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 ...

in the 1940s. Informally known as Balambu Bihar, it is located 8 km from Kathmandu at the western edge of the

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...

History

The history of the Mahavihar dates from 1942 when Buddhist monk

Pragyananda Mahasthavir Pragyananda Mahasthavir ( ne, प्रज्ञानन्द महास्थविर) (born Kul Man Singh Tuladhar) (2 May 1900 – 11 March 1993) was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who was one of the leaders of the revival of Theravada Buddhis ...

came here and began revealing the teachings of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

from a roadside shed. He was the first yellow-robed monk to be seen in Kathmandu since the 14th century. The growing activities in Theravada Buddhism, which was making a comeback in the country, aroused the anger of the government which was intolerant of the religion. Official moves to suppress its spread made the followers more defiant and spurred the development of the monastery. In 1944, the autocratic

Rana regime Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...

mounted a crackdown against Buddhist monks for teaching Buddhism and writing religious book in

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surro ...

. Eight monks including Pragyananda were expelled for refusing to stop their activities. Following the

banishment of Buddhist monks from Nepal Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, the local people hid a number of other monks in nearby Balambu village to save them from being deported. In 1946, the exiled monks who had scattered to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

were allowed to return to Nepal due to international pressure. Even then the government kept a close watch on them, so they decided to live outside the city far from the eyes of the police where they would not be disturbed. Balambu thus became a stronghold in the revival of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal. Construction of the monastery building began in 1947 with funds contributed by the locals. Its founder Pragyananda went on to become the first Sangha Mahanayaka (Patriarch) of Nepal in modern times.

Activities

Balambu Bihar contains a number of resident monks and nuns and is headed by an abbot. It is an important center of Buddhist study especially for youths. Besides conducting religious services, the vihara holds retreats, Dhamma classes and free health camps. It also organizes life cycle ceremonies for boys and girls and operates a senior citizens' home.

References

{{coord missing, Nepal Buddhist monasteries Buddhist monasteries in Nepal Theravada Buddhist monasteries 1942 establishments in Nepal