Guard dogs - or elephants, lions and mythical animals

Namaste!
The entrances or doors to temples, squares, palaces and other important buildings in the Kathmandu valley frequently seem to be guarded by pairs of animals made of stone.  These can be either mythical or real animals, and range from actual size in real life to enormous.

One of a pair of lions guarding Kathmandu Durbar Square.
Notice the man selling Nepali flags in the background.

Brass animal, possibly a lion perched on top of a high pillar

Mythical animals guarding a main door to the
palace in Kathmandu Durbar Square

Pair of huge elephants guarding a temple in Bhaktapur

Lions in Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Lions guarding the palace at Patan

In Bhaktapur two flights of temple steps are adorned with a whole range of animals to act as guardians.

Pairs of animals, guardians of the entrance 
to Nyatapola Temple.

Jayamel, carrying a mace, one of a pair of wrestlers at 
the bottom of the steps at Nyatapola Temple.

At the bottom of the flight of steps leading to Nyataploa Temple in Taumadhi Tole, Bhaktapur is a huge pair of legendary Rajput wrestlers, Jayamel and Phattu.  Then come pairs of elephants  with floral saddles, lions adorned with bells, griffons and finally at the top the Goddesses Baghini and Singhini.  Each of these figures is thought to be 10 times as strong as the ones on the level below.

Shiva Parvati Temple with pairs of animals guarding the steps.

Rarely do the animals seem to be painted, but this pair of lions in Kathmandu Durbar Square, guarding the palace of the Kumari, the young girl with the status of living goddess, are particularly colourful.

Sometimes these statues are so much part of daily life that people living nearby almost ignore them, as in the following photo of the washing draped across very old lions at the temple entrance in Kirtipur!

My time in Kathmandu has educated me to look with new eyes at the entrances to peoples properties, and how they are guarded.
Pheri bheTaolaa.