Bhuikhel ( ne, भुइखेल) is a large plain located in the western part of

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

at the foot of Swayambhu hill. Also known as Bhukhel (भुखेल), it is famed for the

Buddhist 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 ...

Samyak Samyak ( ne, सम्यक) is an almsgiving Buddhist festival celebrated in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. During the ceremony which is held on a large open ground, hundreds of Dīpankara Buddha images are assembled, and gifts of different ...

festival held here. The field is one of the city's landmarks and the hallowed venue of Samyak, a spectacular celebration when hundreds of images of

Dīpankara Buddha Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kappas ago. According to some Buddhist or folk tr ...

are assembled for an alms-giving ceremony. Bhuikhel's area has shrunk over the years due to construction on its edges.

Religious significance

Bhuikhel is of sacred significance because it is the site of the Samyak ceremony of Kathmandu. This alms-giving festival is held in all the three cities of the Kathmandu Valley at differing intervals. In Bhaktapur, Samyak is celebrated annually, in Patan it occurs every five years, and in Kathmandu it takes place once every 12 years. The most recent one was held in 2005. Samyak celebrates the practice of giving to the Buddhas and monks in the Newar Buddhist tradition. The festival in Kathmandu is observed for three days. On the first day, large images of Dipankar Buddha are brought out of sacred courtyards and private homes and displayed in a row at

Kathmandu Durbar Square Kathmandu Durbar Square (''Basantapur Durbar Kshetra'') is located in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom and is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESC ...

to receive offerings from devotees. On the second day, the statues are carried in procession to Bhuikhel and assembled on the field. During the main ceremony attended by the head of state, priests receive alms consisting of different kinds of sacred foods. The third day is known as Misā Samyak, which means Women's Samyak. On this day, the image of Goddess Ajimā Dyah is brought down from her shrine at Swayambhu for the ceremony.

Historical references

This was the place where British traveller Colonel William Kirkpatrick set up his camp when he visited Kathmandu in 1793 as the envoy of

Charles Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

, the governor-general of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Kirkpatrick has written in his account of the visit, "Our camp, during the single week we resided in Nepaul, was pitched on a rising but broken spot of ground, close to the east foot of Sumbhoo-nath, and not quite a mile distance from Khatmanda."

References

{{coord missing, Nepal Kathmandu Meadows in Nepal Plains of Nepal