Patan Durbar Square
The square, situated in the heart of the city, consists
of enchanting melange of palace buildings, artistic
courtyards and graceful pagoda temples. The former
royal palace complex is the center of Patan's religious
and social life and houses a museum containing an
array of bronze statues and religious objects. There
are three main courtyards or chowks, so named central
Mul Chowk, Sundari Chowk and Keshav Narayan Chowk
in the square. The Sundari Chowk holds in its center
a masterpiece of stone architecture, the Royal bath
called Tushahity.
Krisnhna Mandir
Krishna Mandir is Nepal's finest piece of stone architecture.
Siddhi Narsingh, a passionate devotee of Krishna,
built this temple in the 17th century when he dreamed
Krishna and Radha being union at this spot. This magnificent
temple is a delicate, airy creation which defies its
heavy material. The first storey of the temple consists
of scenes from the Hindu holy book Mahabharat; the
second storey pavilions are banded by friezes from
the Ramayana. Atop a stone pillar in front, a brilliantly
executed large metal Garuda (the bird on which Lord
Krishna rides) kneels in homage.
Mahabouddha
A little further east from the southern end of Durbar
Square and then turning right at the sunken water
taps lies this Buddhist monument. The temple, made
of clay bricks with thousands of images of Lord Buddha
engraved, is an excellent example of terra cotta art
form. The terra-cotta structure is one of the fourteen-century
Nepalese architectural masterpieces.
Kwa Bahal "Golden Temple"
This Buddhist monastery is a three storey golden pagoda
of Lokeshwor (Lord Buddha). The monastery, built in
the 12th century by King Bhaskar Verma, is embellished
with exceptionally fine woodcarvings and repousse
work. Inside the upper storey of the pagoda, there
are the golden image of Lord Buddha and a large prayer
wheel. It is a five-minute walk west and north from
the northern end of Durbar Square.
Kumbeshwor
The five-storey pagoda of Kumbeshwor is one of the
oldest temple of Patan. The temple is dedicated to
Lord Shiva. It was orginally constructed in 1392 as
a two storied shrine, but later in the 17th century
Srinivasa Malla added the upper three tiers of the
temple. Hence this is one of the Valley's two five-storied
temples (the other is Bhaktapur's Nyatpola). The two
ponds here (Konti) are believed to be connected by
a subterranean channel to the holy Gosaikund lake,
which lies several days' walk north of Kathmandu.
On the festival of Janai Purnima (usually the August
full moon) thousand devotees of Lord Shiva come to
worship the embossed silver sheath worn by the temple's
sacred linga (phallic symbol), which is placed in
a special pavilion in the middle of the tank in the
hub of temple.
On the southern side of the temple complex is the
single storey shrine of goddess Baglamukhi with green
painted woodwork. The goddess Baglamukhi is embodied
in a tiny image beneath an elaborate silver torona
and canopy of snakes. Baglamukhi is considered as
the wish-fulfilling goddess. Many devotees visit the
temple with hopes that their wishes get rewarded and
fulfilled by goddess Baglamukhi at one point of their
life. The temple is unusually crowded by many devotees
on every Thursdays of the weeks.
The Ashokan Stupas
Emperor Ashoka of India visited Nepal in 250 B.C and
built four ancient stupas at the four corners of Patan.
The four stupas are situated in Pulchowk, Lagankhel,
Ebahi and in Teta (way to Sano Gaon) respectively.
These stupas give evidence to the city's ancient religious
importance.