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About
Changu Narayan |
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The
ancient temple of Changu Narayan is located on a high hilltop
that is also known as Changu or Dolagiri. The temple is
surrounded by forest with champak tree and a small village,
known as Changu Village. The temple is dedicated to Lord
Vishnu and held in especial amazement by the Hindu people.
This temple is considered as the oldest temple in Nepal. The
temple is located in Changunarayan VDC of Bhaktapur District,
Nepal. This hill is about 8 miles east of Kathmandu and a few
miles north of Bhaktapur. The Manahara River flows beside the
hill.
Changu Narayan Temple is enlisted on the list of world
heritage sites. The valuable stone sculpture and the ancient
inscriptions have archeological, historical and cultural
significance. |
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Location of Changu Narayan Temple |
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Changu Narayan Temple is situated at the top of the hill
surrounded by forest of Champ tree. On the main way to temple
courtyard, find human settlement can be seen. People from Newar
community live in and around Changu Narayan area. With the
development of tourism in this place, one can find many medium
and small sized hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. An
ancient stone tap is located on the way to changunaran which is
considered to have existed since the time of Lichhavi. |
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Legend about Changu Narayan |
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In
ancient time a Gwala, a cow herder, had brought a cow from a
Brahman named Sudashan. The cow was known for producing large
quantity of milk. The Gwala used to take the cow to Changu for
grazing. At that time Changu was a forest of Champak tree. While
grazing the cow it always goes to the shade of a particular
tree. In the evening when the Gwala took the cow home and
started milking the cow he got only very few amount of milk.
This continued for several days. He became very sad so he called
the Brahmin and told him that the cow is not giving enough milk.
Brahmin after observing the fact from his own eyes then planned
with the Gwala to inspect the activities of cow during the day
while she was grazing in the forest. Both Brahmin and Gwala hide
themselves behind the trees and speculate the activities of cow.
The cow went into the shade of a particular champak tree. To
their surprise a small black boy came out from the tree and
started liking the cow milk. Both became very angry and they
thought that the boy must be the devil and tree must be its
home. So Brahmin cut down the champak tree.
When the Brahmin was cutting down the tree a fresh human blood
came out from the tree. Both Brahmin and Gwala became worried
and they thought that they have committed the great crime and
they started crying. From the tree lord Vishnu emerged out and
he told the Brahmin that it was not their fault. Lord Vishnu
told them the story that he had committed a horrible crime by
killing Shudarshan’s father unknowingly while hunting in the
forest. After that he was cursed for the crime. He then wandered
on earth on his mouth, the ‘Garuda’ finally descending on the
hill at Changu. There he lived in privacy, surviving on milk
stolen from a cow. When Brahmin cut down the tree, lord Vishnu
was executed which freed Lord Vishnu from his sins. After
hearing these words from Vishnu, Brahmin and Gwala started
worshiping the place and they established a small time in the
name of Lord Vishnu. Ever since that day, the site has been held
holy. Even today we can find the descendant of Sudarshan
Brahimin as priest of the temple and the descendents of Gwala as
ghutiyars (conservators). |
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History of Changu Narayan |
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The pagoda style temple has several masterpieces of 5th
and 12th century Nepalese art. According to legends Changu
Narayan temple existed as early as 325 A.D. at the time of
King Licchavi King Hari Datta Verma and it is one of
Nepal's richest structures historically as well as
artistically. In the grounds there is a stone pillar
inscription of huge significance recording the military
exploits of King Man Deva who reigned from 496 A.D. to 524
A.D. The first epigraphic evidence of Nepalese history
found in the temple premises during the reign of the
Licchavi King Mandeva dating back to 464 A.D. shows that
Changu had already been established as a holy site in the
3rd century A.D. It is the earliest inscription known in
Nepal. The temple was modernized during the lifetime of
Ganga Rani, consort of Siva Simha Malla who reigned from
1585 to 1614. There are records of the temple burning in
the year of 822 Nepal Samvat (1702 A.D.), after which
reconstruction was carried out. More inscriptions in
gilt-copper plates were added by Bhaskara Malla in 1708
A.D. |
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Art and Architectures of Changu Narayan Temple |
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Changu Narayan is considered as the oldest temple of Nepal. It
remains a milestone in Nepali temple architecture with rich
decorated works. The two storied roof temple is standing in a
high base of stone. The temple has a unique architecture which
was described as traditional Nepali style temple. The temple is
all enclosed by arts and sculptures related to Lord Vishnu. Also
the temples of lord Shiva, Chhinnamasta, Kileshwor Ashta
Matrika, and Krishna can be seen inside the courtyard of main
temple. There are four entrances to the temple and these four
entrance gates are safeguarded by life size pairs of animals
such as elephants, lions, sarabhas, and graffins on each side of
the entrances. The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and the other
idols are carved in the struts, which support the roof. The
entrance door looks like gold plated with carving of Nagas
(snakes). On the main entrance gate (i.e. western entrance
gate), Sankha, Chakra, Khadga and Kamal are found at the top of
a stone pillar. These stone pillars has inscription in Sanskrit.
This inscription is considered to be the oldest inscription of
Nepal and the stone inscription pillar was erected by Lichhavi
King Manadeva in 464 AD. |
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Museum Inside Changu Narayan Temple |
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A
private museum is also located in the Changu Narayan on the way
to temple. It is the first private museum of Nepal and it has
the collection of ancient tools, arts, coins and architectures.
There is an excellent collection of historical, ancient,
religious, artistic, archaeological, cultural and other rare
objects. The museum has a good collection of ancient tools used
by Newar family during the medieval period. It was established
on the occasion of millennium year 2000 AD with the consent of
Changu Narayan VDC. |
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Fairs and Festivals |
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Since
the ancient period, many fairs and festivals have been organized
on various occasions. One of the main festivals of Changu is
called Changu Narayan Jatra. The festival ‘Mahashanan’ held here
as an important festival. On the day of ‘Haribodhini Ekadashi’
and ‘Jugadi Nawami’ special puja is conducted in Changu. Daily
aarti and puja is conducted in temple and on the occasion of
family rituals, such as marriage, birthday, etc locals conduct
special puja in the temple. |
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