SIGHTSEEING
IN PATAN CITY
The
ancient name of Patan is Lalitpur,
meaning city of beauty. It is indeed
a city of beauty and grace and is
planned on a circular format with
Buddhist stupas at each of
the four points of the compass. The
city is three kilometres south-east
of Kathrnandu across the southern
bank of the river Bagmati. Like Kathmandu,
its most photogenic centre
of attraction is its Durbar Square
complex, situated right in the middle
of the market place. The city is full
of Buddhist monuments and Hindu
temples, with fine bronze gateways,
guardian deities also and wonderful
carvings. Noted for its craftsmen
and metal workers, it is also known
as the city of artists. The city is
believed to have been built during
the reign of Vira Deva in 299 A.D.
Some of Patan's more important mounments
are as follows:
Patan Durbar Square - This
whole square is a cluster of fine
pagoda temples and stone statues;
it is at the same time the business
hub of the city. At every step one
comes across a piece of art or some
images of various deities, testifying
to the consummate skill of Patan's
anonymous artists. The ancient palace
of the Malla kings and the
stone waterbaths associated with various
legends and episodes of history are
especially interesting to visitors.
The stone temple of Lord Krishna
and the Royal Bath (Tushahity)
with its intricate stone and bronze
carvings are two other masterpieces
in the same vicinity.
Hiranya Varna Mahavibar -
This three-storeyed golden pagoda
of Lokeshwar (Lord Buddha) was
built in the twelfth century A.D.
by King Bhaskar Varma. Located in
the courtyard of Kwabahal, this temple
belongs to a class of its own. A golden
image of Lord Buddha and a big prayer
wheel can be seen on the pedestal
of the upper part of the Vihar while
intricate decorative patterns, worked
out on its outer walls, add charm
to the mellow richness of the shrine.
Kumbheshwar - This is a five-storeyed
pagoda-style temple of Lord Shiva.
Inside the courtyard is a natural
spring having its source, it is said,
in the famous glacial lake of Gosainkunda.
This temple was built by King Jayasthiti
Malla while the golden finial was
added later in 1422 A.D. He also cleaned
the pond near Kumbheshwar and installed
various images of Narayan, Ganesh,
Sitala, Basuki, Gauri, Kirtimukh and
Agamadevata around the pond and in
the courtyard. Ritual bathing takes
place here every year on the day of
Janai Poornima.
Jagat Narayan - The Jagat
Narayan temple is a tall Shikhara-style
temple consecrated to Lord Vishnu.
The temple is built out of the red
bricks on the bank of the Sagmati
at Sankharnul and enshrines many stone
images. The fine metal statue
of Garuda placed on a stone monolith
is quite eye-catching along with similarly
placed images of Ganesh and
Hanuman.
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Krishna Temple - The temple
of Lord Krishna holds a commanding
position in Patan's palace complex.
Though its style is not wholly native,
it is reckoned to be one of the most
perfect specimens of the Nepalese
templecraft. The three-storeyed
stone temple continues to elicit
high praise from lovers of art and
beauty. It was built by King Siddhi
Narasingha Malla in the sixteenth
century A.D. Most of the important
scenes from the Mahabharata and
Ramayana epics have been carved
in bas-relief. The minute details
of this relief work clearly show the
high level that the art of stone carving
had attained in the sixteenth century.
Mahaboudba - The temple
of Mahaboudha is a masterpiece
of brick and tile. Like the Krishna
Mandir, it reveals an art tradition
which evolved outside of Nepal; it
also shows that the native craftsmanship
of the Nepalese can do proper
justice to any art form. This temple
was built by Abhaya Raj, a priest
of Patan and is sometimes referred
to as the temple of a million Buddhas
because every single brick depicts
a small image of Buddha an astonishing
total of nine thousand bricks. It
was levelled to the ground in the
great earthquake of 1933 but was rebuilt
exactly to the original specifications,
thus proving that templecraft is still
one of the living arts of Napal.
Rudra Varna Mahavihar - This
is one of Patan's oldest Buddhist
monasteries. Adjacent to the monastery
there is a temple that contains a
fine image of Lord Buddha.
The courtyard of this temple is like
a gallery of different bronze and
stone art works.
Popularly believed, though not scholastically
endorsed, to have been built by Ashoka,
the Buddhist Emperor of India,
these stupas stand at four different
corners of Patan giving the whole
city a monastic character. All these
Buddhist mounds were built in
250 A.D. at the time when Buddhism
was making headway to the Kathmandu
Valley.
Machchhendranath - The temple
of Machchhendranath is another
centre of attraction in Patan. The
temple lies in the middle of a wide
spacious quadrangle just at the outer
rim of the market place. A fine clay
image of Avalokiteshwar or red Machchhendranath
is housed here for six months every
year after which it is taken round
the city of Patan in a colourful chariot
festival beginning in April-May and
lasting sometimes for several months,
(see festival section).
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