Temple of Pashupatinath

Pashupatinath Temple is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River in the eastern part of Kathmandu, Kathmandu Valley. The temple served as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath. The temple is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
 
The temple is one of the 275 Holy Abodes of Shiva on the continent. Over the past times, only born Hindus were allowed to enter the temple.Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu and  is not known for certain when Pashupatinath Temple was founded though existence dates back to 400 A.D.
The temple was erected anew in the 17th century by King Bhupendra Malla after the previous building had been consumed by termites.Countless further temples have been erected around this two -storied temple. These include the Vaishnava temple complex with a Ram temple from the 14th century and the Guhyeshwari temple mentioned in an 11th-century manuscript. The priests who perform the services at this temple have been Bhat-Brahmins from South India origin since last 350 years. The priests of Pashaputinath are called Bhattas and the chief priest is called Mool Bhatt.


The temple is of the Nepalese pagoda style of architecture. All the features of pagoda style is founded here like cubic constructions, beautifully carved wooden rafters on which they rest. The two level roofs are of copper with gold covering. It has four main doors, all covered with silver sheets. This temple has a gold pinnacle, (Gajur), which is a symbol of religious thought. The western door has a statue of large bull or Nandi, plated in bronze. The deity is of black stone, about 6 feet in height and the same in circumference.


There are many legends describing as to how the temple of Lord Pashupatinath came to existence here. Some of them are narrated below:

The Cow Legend
Legend says that Lord Shiva once took the form of an antelope and sported unknown in the forest on Bagmati river's east bank. The gods later caught up with him, and grabbing him by the horn, forced him to resume his divine form. The broken horn was worshipped as a linga but overtime it was buried and lost. Centuries later an astonished herdsmen found one of his cows showering the earth with milk. Digging deep at the site, he discovered the divine linga of Pashupatinath.

The Linchchhavi Legend
According to Gopalraj Vamsavali, the oldest ever chronicle in Nepal, this temple was built by Supuspa Deva, a Linchchhavi King, who according to the stone inscription erected by Jayadeva 11 in the courtyard of Pashupatinath in 753 AD, happened to be the ruler 39 generations before Manadeva (464-505 AD).

The Devalaya Legend
Another chronicle states that Pashupatinath Temple was in the form of Linga shaped Devalaya before Supuspa Deva constructed a five storey temple of Pashupatinath in this place. As the time passed, the need for repairing and renovating this temple arose. It is learnt that this temple was reconstructed by a medieval King named Shivadeva (1099-1126 AD). It was renovated by Ananta Malla adding a roof to it.


Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to pay homage to this temple, that is also known as 'The Temple of Living Beings'.