Pashupatinath

PASHUPATINATH – ONE OF THE MOST SACRED PLACES IN NEPAL

Nepal is a secular state, a good example for relogious tolerance. People follow different religions in Nepal. Out of the various other religions in Nepal, Hinduism is the most dominant in number. Lord Shiva is considered as the guardian deity of Nepal. Though Nepal is the place where Lord Buddha was born, the number of Hindus are the higher. Goddess Sita was also born in Nepal, who is widely worshipped In Nepal and India too. Hindus believe in the idea of three gods – Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh who are considered to be creator, protector and destroyer of the universe respectively. Out of them Mahesh whose other name is Lord Shiva is worshipped the most in Nepal. Out of his other countless name is Pashupati and we have Pashupatinath temple, a Hindu temple which is believed to be our protector.

Historical Importance of Pashupatinath

Pashupatinath does not only hold the religious and mythological importance but historical importance too. Pashupatinath can be divided into two words – Pashu and Pati. Pashu means animals and Pati means husband. So basically, Lord Shiva is thought to be the husband of animals. Pashupatinath temple was built in the 5th century and was later renovated by the Malla kings. This temple was built after a Shiva Lingum was discovered by the people. The various feature of this temple has been added after wards by other kings. So do not think that the whole temple, and its surrounding was made at once. The bull in front of the door of the main temple was made by one king, the silver door was made by the other one and in this way the whole temple got its whole outlook. The main temple has four doors. On usual days, only one door is open while the other three are also opened during the festival of Teej and Shivaratri.

This temple is made in Pagoda style and is surrounded by 492 other temples, 15 Shivalayas and 12 Jyotirlinga. The temple is situated at the bank of Bagmati River which is considered to be the holy river. People from India store the water of this river take with them as a holy river too. The importance of this holy river is not imaginable. In the Eastern part of this temple is Guheswori which is the temple of Lord Shiva’s wife Sati. According to the mythological stories it is believed when sati Devi died, Lord Shiva carried her dead body on his shoulders like a mad person, wondering what to do and what happened. And the places where sati Devi’s body part have fell are now holy places and temples have been established on those places. So is the story behind the establishment of Guheswori temple.

Only Hindu people are allowed to enter through the main gate of Pashuptinath. The Bagmati River is as I have already mentioned is considered as a holy river. The cremation ceremony of Hindus is done here. People strongly believe that washing the legs of the Hindu dead person’s will wash away all the sins he has done all his life. The person will get Mukti from here. The temple consist the area like Deupatan, Jaya Bageshwori, Gaurighat, Kutumbahal, Gaushala, Pingalasthan and Sleshmantak forest too.

The architecture of this country as I have already said, it was made in the 5th century so the designs and architectural beauty is derived from the 5th century with slight changes. You can enjoy this architectural view and sights during the day time but if you really want to have an internal peace then I suggest you to go at the evening time. During this time, Pashupatinath area has ‘SANJH AARATI’ that means evening prayers. The whole feel of seeing this view is simply magical. The scenery is intense and well I am not getting a philosophical word right now but I hope you understand.

Pashupatinath in UNESCO World Heritage Site List

The fact that Pashupatinath is one of the UNESCO world heritage site is a boon for Nepal. The most number of devotees visit this temple on the day of Shivaratri and Teej. Teej is the festival of Hindu women. Married women undergo fasting so that their husbands get blessed with long life while the unmarried ones undergo fasting, asking for a husband like Shiva. Well I personally do not like the ideology of the later one but I still respect the feeling of the ones who believe it.