PASHUPATINATH

Presented By - Aakriti Singh & Aakash Dagar

 INTRODUCTION
The Pashupatinath, or Pashupati (Pashu means living beings; Pati means master meaning; master of all living beings of the
universe), is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Pashupatinath who is more commonly known as Lord Shiva. Located in the
Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, this temple has been listed as a World Heritage Site on UNESCO’s list.
The temple covers 264 hectares of ground, which covers 518 structures inside it. One of the major Festivals of the temple
is Maha Shivaratri on which day over 1 million devotees visit here.
The original Pashupatinath temple was destroyed by termites and the new/current one was reconstructed over it in the17th
century

CONTENT
• INTRODUCTION
• EXISTENCE OF THE TEMPLE
• ENTRY GATES TO THE MAIN TEMPLE
• ARCHITECTURE OF THE MAIN TEMPLE
• PAINTINGS & SCULPTURES
• THE WESTERN AND THE EASTERN BANKS OF BAGMATI RIVER
• GHATS AROUND THE TEMPLE
• THE LOCALS
• SADHUS
• 2015 EARTHQUAKE
EXISTING SINCE 400 A.D. : Regarded as the most sacred
Hindu temple of Lord Shiva in the world, Pashupatinath Temple's
existence dates back to 400 A.D. 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'.

Source: travelogyindia.com Source: blogspot.com

ENTRY GATES : There are four gates for entry to main temple of
Pashupatinath. The main entry is the western gate which is always open.
Other gates are closed and are only opened during festivals.

Source: devdutt.com

Source: thrillingtravel.in Source: dawn.com

THE MAIN TEMPLE : The main temple is inside a fortified courtyard. This is a two-tiered pagoda styled temple with cubic
construction built on a single-tier plinth, and it stands 23.6 meters above the ground. It is built with wooden structures, roofs
made of copper and doors
covered with silver sheets.

Source: pashupatinathtemple.org
 THE BUNK ROOF: The two storied roof of the temple had been constructed from pure copper and covered with gold.

GAJUR: The roof of the temple has a

gold pinnacle (GAJUR).

Source: wikimedia.org Source: thrillingtravel.in

STRUTS : The two storied roof is held up well The struts, dating from the late 17th century, are decorated with wood carvings of
members of Shiva's family such as Parvati, Ganesh, Kumar or the Yoginis, as well as Hanuman, Rama, Sita, Lakshman and other
gods and goddesses from the Ramayana.

Source: thrillingtravel.in
DOORS : There are four doors each facing the four directions. Each door is ornately decorated in gilt and silver-plates.

Source: guenther-eichhorn.com
NANDI : One of the most astonishing decorations of the temple is the huge golden statue of Nandi – Shiva’s bull. It is located
right in front of the temple.

Source: sanyal1.blogpost.com Source: sanyal1.blogpost.com

THE LINGAM : Inside the temple itself is a narrow ambulatory around the sanctum. The sanctum contains a one-meter high Linga
with four faces (chaturmukha) representing Pashupati, as well as images of Vishnu, Surya, Devi and Ganesh. Each face faces four
doors (which face the four directions)
of Pashupatinath temple.

The name of the faces of the Shivlinga are:

The face facing East – Tatpurusha

The face facing West – Sadhyojata

The face facing North – Vamadeva

The face facing South – Aghora

The uppermost portion -Ishan.

Source: images.jagran.com
SCULPTURES AND PAINTINGS : This richly
decorated temple with sculptures and paintings.

Source: pashupatinathtemple.org , tale-wind.com , maverickonthemove.wordpress.com

ONLY HINDU CAN ENTER : The main temple can be accessed by the Hindus. For people of all other religions, all the other
parts of the building are open except the main temple.

Source: holidayiq.com Source: sanyal1.blogpost.com

THE WESTERN BANK : The western bank of Bagmati also hosts
the so called Panch Deval (Five temples) complex, which once was a
holy shrine but now serves a shelter for destitute old people.

Source: flickr.com

Source: maverickonthemove.files.wordpress.com Source: maverickonthemove.files.wordpress.com

THE EASTERN BANK : On the eastern bank of Bagmati are 15
votive shrines, the Pandra Shivalaya, which were built to enshrine
lingas in the memory of deceased persons between 1859and 1869.
These buildings are small single storey constructions made from stone.
From the outside these buildings are reminding crypts, but in reality
these are sacral buildings, created for holding the symbol of the deity
Shiva – lingam.
Source: blogspot.com

Source: guenther-eichhorn.com Source: holidayiq.com and peakpromotionnepal.com

ARYA GHAT: Arya Ghat, dating from the early 1900’s, is of special importance because it is the only place where lustral water
(water considered sacred enough to be brought into the temple) for Pashupatinath Temple can be obtained. This Ghat is considered
very auspicious, and hence the member of Nepal’s Royal family
are cremated here. It was last used during the Royal Massacre
on 1 June 2001, in which most of the royal family was killed.

SOURCE: tale-wind.com SOURCE: guenther-eichhorn.com

OPEN-AIR CREMATION : The main cremation site is Bhasmeshvar Ghat where numerous platforms for funeral pyres are
built. It is the most-used cremation site in the Kathmandu Valley.

Source: wikimedia.org

Source: pashupatinathtemple.org Source: tale-wind.com

THE LOCALS : As far as Shiva is considered the patron of animals and all living organisms, monkeys and deers are
wandering all around the temple complex on both banks of Bagmati. Monkeys are very often unfriendly, they beg for food,
snatch things from careless people and may even be dangerous.

Source: travelogyindia.com Source: sanyal1.blogpost.com

SADHUS : Sadhus(Holy Man) are wandering ascetic yogis, who are trying to acquire liberation from the cycle of death and
rebirth by meditating. They have very unique appearance with specific yellow paintings on their bodies. They live in caves or
tiny cells on the territory of Pashupatinath.

SOURCE: guenther-eichhorn.com SOURCE: google.com SOURCE:google.com

2015 EARTHQUAKE : The main temple complex of Pashupatinath and the sanctum sanctorum was left untouched but some
of the outer buildings in the World Heritage Site were damaged by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 25 April 2015.
While devotees claimed it as a sign of divine power; others are arguing that its strong base and architecture are the main factors
which helped Pashupatinath temple to withstand
the effects of the earthquake.

One of the outer shrine damaged in the earthquake

Source: Wikipedia.org
Bibliography:

• Shrestha, H (09 March, 2010) “Places to visit in Nepal” Retrieved 27 April, 2019

• Shukla, S (23 Sept, 2015) “10 interesting facts about Pashupatinath Temple” Retrieved 27 April, 2019

• Kumar, M (24 Oct, 2018) “Everything About Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal” Retrieved 27 April,
2019

• “Pashupatinath Temple” Retrieved 29 April, 2019

• “Pashupatinath Temple - Holiest Temples in the World” Retrieved 29 April, 2019

• Gunther, E (10 March, 2019) “Architecture in Kathmandu” Retrieved 30 April, 2019