Changu Narayan Temple.

Namaste,

During the time I was staying in the Kathmandu Valley last year, there was only one World Heritage site, out of 7 in the valley, that I did not visit; Changu Narayan Temple.  Now, back in Kathmandu for a few days, I've had time to go there with some VSO friends. 

The temple contains some of the oldest statues and carvings known in Nepal, and friends had said it was worth the effort to get there.  The journey involved two bus rides, the first taking us out of the city to Bhaktapur, and then the second climbing the 6 kilometres, steeply uphill through winding lanes, to the small village where the temple is sited.  Luckily the buses connected well and the total journey of two hours cost us about 35 pence!

We walked up the paved path through the village, passing the usual small shops selling items aimed at tourists; thankas (Buddhist pictures), shawls, singing bowls and Nepali tea. “Tourist hoina!” (I’m not a tourist!) I said and hardly stopped to look. The photo below shows the main street with rice grains, newly harvested, spread out to dry on tarpaulins on the path. 

Changu Narayan Temple is sited right at the top of the village on a ridge, with views of the Kathmandu Valley on all sides.  The Temple is beautiful, with a two-tiered pagoda as the central building, and the surrounding courtyard has many statues and carvings, some dating from as early as the 5^th Century AD.  Very few ‘biddeshis’ make it this far on their sightseeing tours, but today we were not alone at the temple.  As it was a Nepali public holiday there were many Nepali couples and family groups out for the day, which gave the place a happy festive atmosphere.

The temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu who, as Narayan, is thought to be the creator of all life.  Many of the statues and carvings show Vishnu in his various incarnations.  One particularly interesting and very old one shows the 10 headed Vishnu lying on a serpent.

Vishnu, the statue pictured on a
10 rupee notes.

 One of the statues from this temple is pictured on a 10 rupee Nepali banknote; Vishnu sat astride Garuda the flying vehicle of Vishnu.

A stone pillar, with carved inscription, is the oldest known script in the valley, dating from AD 464.  It tells the story of the king of that time, who persuaded his mother not to commit ‘sati’ after the death of his father.  Sati was ritual suicide, and was the practise for wives at that time when their husband died!

The huge metal conch shell on top of another tall pillar creates an interesting image. 

By the golden doorway a very old statue from the 5th century, depicts a figure, Garuda, kneeling. It was covered in red powder, tikka, because of the festival, as were most of the other statues we saw at the temple.

Lion standing guard at the golden door.

The temple building itself is guarded by pairs of animals on each side; elephants, griffons, sarabhas (half lion, half bird) and lions.  I noticed there were interesting doors on two sides, one beautifully decorated in golden coloured metal and the other of carved wood.  What craftsmanship!

Intricate designs on carved wooden door.

As we weren’t Hindus, we could not enter the temple, and photographs of the inside are forbidden.  However there was plenty to see outside! The roof at each layer, has carved wooded struts of intricate detail, featuring Hindu Gods, each one different.  

Looking up at the roof struts carved as Hindu deities.

Many armed deity on one
carved wooden roof strut.

Roof strut painted in gold depicting
 a mythical animal

My attention was caught by a row of small gargoyle-like heads decorating the wall of another small temple. Wherever I looked there was something different to see.

In one corner of the courtyard there was a small temple, which again we could not enter.  The guardian of the temple was even unhappy that I should want to take a photo of the outside.  This temple is dedicated to the Goddess Chhinnamasta, who beheaded herself to feed Dakini and Varnini, two bloodthirsty Hindu deities.  The name Chhinnamasta translated into English, literally means "beheaded one"! This bloodthirsty theme was still evident at the temple, as the blood of recent animal sacrifices was dried on the ground outside, and from a brief unofficial glimpse of the inside, in there too. (No photos you will be glad to hear!) In Nepal during Dashain, the special Hindu festival in October taking place at the moment, many millions of animals are slaughtered for sacrifice, before being eaten.

Around the edge of the courtyard is a shaded platform.  Stored in one part and not really on display, I discovered a beautiful miniature chariot, which is probably used during a special festival to transport an image of Vishnu. Pulled by carved elephants and with a decorated wooden and metal structure, I was intrigued by this small replica.

Later we had an eventful journey back to Kathmandu.  Because of the public holiday, many people were returning from their day out and catching the bus. We were fortunate because we boarded at the terminus and therefore got seats, but as the journey progressed, the bus became more and more crowded. Packages and even small children and babies were passed in through the windows, and we had them sitting on our laps, whilst the mothers were squashed in the aisle and on the steps. Even the roof was laden with passengers, until we came to the outskirts of Bhaktapur, when the roof travellers had to get down and walk or squeeze inside, as roof travel is no longer permitted in Nepal, and they would have been caught by the police in the town.

Changu Narayan Temple, part of the rich cultural heritage of Nepal, was definitely worth visiting.