Nepal (October 2023): Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu

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The Pashupatinath temple of Kathmandu is a major Hindu religious site dedicated to Shiva. Its large precinct extends over 246 hectares on both sides of the Bagmati river, which is considered holy by both Hindus and Buddhists. It includes a main temple (next to the Bagmati river, on its western bank) and a sprawling ensemble of smaller temples, shrines, and ashrams. It is believed that the main temple was established in the 5th century CE, but in its current form the building dates from the 17th century. It is shaped like a pagoda with a square base and a two-tiered copper roof covered in gold. Only Hindu devotees may enter this building and its courtyard. However, the rest of the precinct is open to all. I arrived early and stayed there all morning, enjoying the precinct's mix of calm and energy. Along with the Boudhanath, it is undoubtedly one of the most interesting sites in Kathmandu, where a centuries-old culture remains alive and authentic.

Lines of Hindu worshipers at the west entrance of the main temple. Many bring offerings (usually food and flowers).

White shrine with, next to it, one of the Sadhus living in the precinct. (Sadhus are ascetic religious mendicants. They typically wear saffron-colored clothing and have specific yellow and red paintings on their faces.)

Facade of the Pashupati Bridda ashram, with its long double colonnade, located a short distance south of the main temple.

Left: Shrines between the Pashupati Bridda ashram and the Bagmati river. Right: A Sadhu dressed in white.

Mural paintings near the main temple.

Left: One of the four facades of the Vatsaleshwari temple located next to the Bagmati river on its western bank. Center and right: Sculptures above the facade, below the roof of the temple.

The Vatsaleshwari temple (left) and the main temple (right) seen from a bridge across the Bagmati river.

Views of the main temple from the eastern bank of the Bagmati river.

The Aarya ghat below the main temple. Cremation ceremonies are performed daily on this ghat.

Fortune tellers on the eastern bank of the Bagmati river.

Line of 11 votive shrines (only 7 are visible in the photo below), known as Pandra Shivalaya, sitting on a leveled platform slightly above the eastern bank of the Bagmati river. Each shrine houses a linga (the phallic representation of Shiva) in memory of a deceased person. In each shrine, the linga rests on a disc-shaped platform representing its feminine counterpart. This combination symbolizes the indivisible male-female duality.

Other linga shrines along a stairway leading to the hilltop of the precinct.

Group of Sadhus sitting next to a linga shrine.

Left: Statues of Ganesha and Hanuman. Right: Another statue of Ganesha.

Red brick shrines among tall trees on the hilltop of the precinct (east of the Bagmati river).

Left and center: Stone shrines next to the red-brick ones. Right: Red-and-white shikhara (corncob-shaped tower) of the Gorakhnath temple located a little further on the hill. This temple is dedicated to the 11th-century yogi Gorakhnath, who founded the monastic movement Nath within the Shaivite Hindu tradition (the tradition that worships Shiva as the Supreme Being). Gorakhnath is also considered one of the revivalists of hatha yoga.

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