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Pashupatinath temple is a Hindu temple located on the shore of the
Bagmati river on the eastern part of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
It is regarded as the most sacred temple of Shiva (Pashupati) in
Nepal. "Shivaratri" or night of lord Shiva is the most important
festival celebrated in this temple. Along the shores of the Bagmati
river near the temple lies "Arya Ghat", the most widely used place of
cremation for the deceased in Nepal, especially in and around the
Kathmandu valley. There is also a large market in the streets
surrounding the temple. Vendors sell souvenirs to tourists, but also
cloth, dyes, and religious supplies. Believers of the faith Hinduism
are allowed to enter the temple. Non-Hindu visitors are allowed to
have a look at the temple from the other bank of Bagmati river. The
priests who perform the services at this temple are always Brahmins
from South India. This tradition is supposed to have started by Sage
Shankaracharya in 6th century, ostensibly to stop human sacrifice
which was prevalent in that temple. Another interpretation is that
Indian priests are stationed at Pashupatinath because when the King
passes away, the entire Nepali people are supposed to stop religious
services and enter a year long period of mourning. As the
Pashupatinath needs to be eternally worshipped, Indians were brought
to make sure that the Pashupatinath is worshipped even at the time of
official mourning. One of the best known of these priests was Raval
Padmanabha Shastri Adiga (1927-2005). He started as a priest in 1955
and was promoted to Chief priest in 1967. In his time, he started a
movement to use the temple funds for local development. He retired in
1993 and moved back to his home town Udupi. The temple is of pagoda
architecture. The two level roofs are of copper with gold covering. It
has four main doors, all covered with silver sheets. The western door
has a statue of large bull or Nandi, again covered in gold. The deity
is of black stone, about 6 ft in height and about 6ft circumference.
The priests are called Bhattas and the chief priest is known as Mool
Bhatt or Raval. The chief priest is answerable only to the King of
Nepal and reports to him on the matters of temple on periodic
basis. East of the temple is the Vasukinath. |
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