Kumbheshwar Temple () is one of the oldest Hindu temples, situated 200m from the northern part of

Patan Durbar Square Patan Durbar Square ( Nepal Bhasa: /यल लायकु, Nepali: पाटन दरबार क्षेत्र) is situated at the centre of the city of Lalitpur in Nepal. It is one of the three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley ...

. It was built in the 14th century (around 1392) by King

Jayasthiti Malla Jayasthiti Malla, also spelled Jayasthitimalla, () was the eleventh Malla king of Nepal. His absolute rule over the valley began after deposing Jayarjunadeva in 1382 until his death in 1395. Origin and early life The ancestry of Jayasthiti ...

which makes it the oldest temple in Patan. It is one of the two free-standing, five-story temples, the other being the famous Nyatapola temple of

Bhaktapur Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located abou ...

. The temple is noted for its graceful proportions and fine woodcarvings and is dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, as indicated by the large

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afr ...

, or bull, facing the temple.

Temple complex

The Kumbheshwar Temple lies in a

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

that includes many other structures, including

Bagalamukhi Baglamukhi or Bagalā () is the female form of a personification of the mahavidyas (great wisdom/science), a group of ten Tantra, Tantric deities in Hinduism. Bagalamukhi is one of the ten forms of the Devi, symbolising potent female, primeval ...

(बगलामुखी मन्दिर), Ulmanta Bhairava (उल्मान्त भैरव) and two hiti ponds, among the most notable ones. It is a popular belief that the water spring that fills the ponds originates all the way from

Gosainkunda Gosaikunda, also spelled Gosainkunda, is a lake in Nepal's Langtang National Park, located at an elevation of in the Rasuwa District with a surface area of . Together with associated lakes, the Gosaikunda Lake complex is in size and was design ...

, which is located 43 kilometers north of

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. So taking a dip in the pond during the festival of Janai Purnima (जनै पुर्णिमा) is equivalent to doing the same in Gosainkunda.Water Conduits in the Kathmandu Valley (2 vols.) by Raimund O.A. Becker-Ritterspach, , Published by Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 1995

’s mount, the bull

is kneeling in front of the main Kumbheshwor Temple. High above the wooden roof tiers, it looks as if they might topple over on this five-story building.

Gallery

File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5101.jpg, Temple with sattal, Misha Hiti, Konti Hiti and Kumbheshwar Pokhari File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5153.jpg, Five storey

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

style Kumbheshwor Temple File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5111.jpg, Sattal that serves as main entrance File:Bangalamukhi Temple Patan-IMG 5145.jpg, Sattal seen from the inside File:Bangalamukhi temple complex IMG 2840 (18551006476).jpg, Temple door

References

{{Hindu temples in Nepal Patan Durbar Square Hindu temples in Lalitpur District, Nepal 14th-century establishments in Nepal Newa architecture