All About Kathmandu
Pashupati
It is the start of a very interesting day. I am on my way to Pashupati to see the Pashupati Temple where live and open cremation are done on the temple ground.
A little bit of history first. Pashupatinath is the Lord Shiva i.e. the God of Gods to the Hindus. The Pashupatinath is considered one of the holiest temple in Nepal and Hindus and Buddhists alike worshiped there. In the sanctum of the temple stands a Jyothirlinga (a devotional object representing Lord Shiva believed to have self appeared) and the like of which is not found existent anywhere else in the world. The temple is located on the western bank of Bagmati river in Kathmandu. The precincts of the temple of Pashupatinath and its surrounding areas spreads over 264 hectares of land, dotted with ancient temples, archaeologically and architecturally important monuments, vihars, monasteries, stupas and so on.
A typical looking petrol kiosk - mind you it is not like the modern ones we have back home
The entrance to the Pashupatinath Temple
The 'open' crematorium
As you can see smoke is rising from the open crematorium (urm dead body being burnt there)
I was told there the dead will be prepared (bathed and covered with white linen) and funeral rituals will be done at the temple prior to the crematorium of the body at the podium of the temple. Logs of wood shall be placed at the bottom of the podium before the body be placed on top of the log of woods which shall then be covered with smaller pieces of woods surrounding the body. Finally the fire shall be set alight on the top later and bottom layer of the wood. The whole process takes about 3 to 4 hours. After which it shall be inspected by the caretaker to make sure that the 'burning' is complete. The family members shall then gather to watch the ashes of the dead being strewn into the river below. As it says 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust'.
The opposite site of the 'live' burning podium
Below the temple is the river where the dead is bathed prior to the funeral rituals, the full view is blocked by the bridge unfortunately. When I was there, one family was doing a ritual and I did not want to take the picture of the family out of respect.
Stupas opposite and above the area where the 'bodies' are bathed
After witnessing the ritual, I explored the temple grounds. Some other interesting sights as below.
Have you ever seen so many pigeons and cows in an open area?
The cows (all male) at the temple grounds are presented by the Hindus in exchange of blessings from the Gods. Only males are presented as female cows are kept at home for its milk. It is an offence to kill a cow in Nepal as it is considered a sacred and it is the national animal of the country. The penalty of killing a cow is 20 years in goal. Further when the cow dies it is to be cremated. The skin shall be taken off from the cow and only the body is cremated. Urmmm, then use the skin as leather goods?? Does not make any sense if the cow is sacred and all but you use the skin ... no?
Shops near the temple ground
Great Stupa of Baudhanath
My next stop is the Stupa.
The stupa is commonly known as Boudha or Boudhanath, meaning lord of wisdom. It is (supposed ) to be a protective, purifactory and wish granting stupa according to the Newar people.
There are many stories and legends concerning the origin and history of the stupa. The Himalayan Buddhist believes that a widow name Jyazima aspired to make a great offering to the Buddha, using her hard earned savings as a poultry keeper. She approached the local king for permission and it was granted, on condition that she used an area of land measuring the size of a single buffalo skin. However, Jyazima cut the skin into thin strips and claimed the land enclosed from the strips lay end to end. The mere woman.s ambition to build such a magnificent monuments offering to the Buddha caused much jealousy between the rich and the powerful at the time. The jealous lords petitioned the king to have the stupa demolished, but the king who allowed this happened replied by saying that since his permission had been granted it shall not be rescinded and thus the stupa was named Jyarung Khashyor.
The Stupa and its sights
The shops surrounding the Stupa
Types of souvenirs sold and the special 'thanka' (hand painted paintings on sheet of silk or cotton - usually set to harden first by some solution usually depicting Hindu Gods and the Buddha) which is not captured in picture here but I have inserted a photo I found in Google.
I had Indian style lunch today and it was decent. The restaurant is near the former palace in which the palace is now a museum. If you can remember I think it was sometime after the 2000 Olympics, we heard about the massacre of the Royal family by the Crown Prince Dipendra (actual event took place in year 2001). Read the Nepal Royal Massacre.
The entrance to the former palace
This is somewhat a long day so I have broken this piece into two parts.
Time for a bit of work now. Chow.
