Visit Kathmandu: Glimpses of Kathmandu Durbar Square

Kathmandu, the only metropolis in the heart of the Kingdom of Nepal;Land of snow white mountains and home of the Gods. The melting point of races and religions situated amongst China and India. Supernatural, secretive and captivating. It was only a few decades ago that ancient Nepal opened out it borders until then due to the command of ruling Gurkha Dynasty; a home of divine was completely segregated. Kathmandu, formally known as Kantipur was at it’s zenith between sixteenth and eighteen hundreds of years.

                            

Kathmandu Durbar Square

In the heart of city is Durbar Square; The Palace Square. This is where the Country’s royalty lived until 1908 and where the most imperative festival takes place. The discovery of the wheel and in the middle ages in the Country of myth and legends that for 100’s of years had previously been artificially maintained by ruling monarchs. This group of temples was assigned by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. These secrete building encompass Nepalese religion, belief and culture. Located above large number of steps the mighty Taleju temple towered above all other. Architecturally this temple mountain highlights the exceptional importance of Goddess. Precious ornament and gilded windows decorates the sanctuary. This dates back to 1560’s A.D. It elevated the art of building and was successfully copied by other cities in the valley. The previous castle range of  Malla rulers is still the focal point of the city. As it’s customary in Newar’s cities Royal buildings and Religious temples are tightly packed together.

At it’s centre is the ancient palace of Hanuman Dhoka of which only handful number of royal rooms are opened to public. The Palace is devoted to the monkey God Hanuman. As a protective deity it was considered  that he would prevent evil spirit from entering the Royal Palace. Most of the Palaces main features were built during sixteenth century and subsequently enlarged and renovated. The whole sanctuary extends to the bazaar.

Inspite of country’s colorful varieties of beliefs the tolerance attitude of each of the religions has assured the peaceful coexistence of many different ethnic groups. People all over Nepal visit Durbar Square unchanged for many centuries. Here there’s shopping and one can relax on the steps of various temple. Degutale temple is committed to God Degutale and is worked by Malla king within the complex to demonstrate the power of both the Goddess and King over the neighboring cities.

Kaal Bhairav; the large relief of Kaal Bhairav, unnerving appearance of God Shiva in the role of Avenger looks down on the passes by. The crushed evil lie at the foot of six armed God. The strong religious faith of the people stems from their belief that the secrete Country was the birth place of Lord Buddha. For many years centuries this was the centre of Buddhist power and culture. And here the largest number of temple is found dedicated to numerous deities.

Casdidega, Shiva Parbati Mandir, Trailokya Mohan Mandir, Manju Dega Temple, Jagarnath Temple,Garuda are the other outstanding monuments built strangely during Malla and Shah Dynasty. They feature text that is believed to be the Nepali ancient writing. The colorful life of these ancient temple is constantly observed by the Gods. Side by a group of bicycle and taxi drivers wait expectantly for their next client. In former times the monastery like Palace complex were connected by footpath and path is transformed into street these days.

Kumari chowck is the residence of living Goddess Kumari. For this role a young girl is duly selected and is prohibited for leaving the Palace until puberty. Her task is to affirm the king his power. Here she is kept in darkened room and shown a demonic mask. The girl must be fearless for that is the sign of divine determination. However once a year the girl is focal point of procession through a street of Kathmandu. Because it is badluck to have a God as a wife they seldom marry. 

 

Unfortunately the main part of the Palace was destroyed during a devastating earthquake in 2015 April 25. The stone buildings and wooden pagodas collapsed and were destroyed essentially.