Gokarna Mahadev
Coordinates: 27 ° 44 ′ 22 ″ N , 85 ° 23 ′ 16 ″ E
The Gokarna Mahadev or Gokarneshvara Mahadev is one of the oldest Hindu temples northeast of Kathmandu in Nepal , dedicated to Shiva in his form as Mahadev - the great god .
location
The temple complex of Gokarna Mahadev is located above the Bagmati gorge in the village of the same name. The road from Kathmandu, about 15 kilometers southwest, to Sundarijal leads directly past the temple.
Naming
The name Gokarna Mahadev is made up of the Sanskrit words "Gokarna" (cow-eared) and "Mahadev" (great god).
The place and thus the temple are named after the holy city of Gokarna in the Indian state of Karnataka .
history
The exact date of origin of the temple is unknown, but the statue of Parvati , which is kept in a small shrine at the northwest corner of the temple complex, probably dates from the end of the Licchavi period in the middle of the 8th century.
The first pagoda in the temple complex is documented for the 14th century, the current three-storey building dates from the 19th century and has been restored with UNESCO funds since 1980 .
Temple complex
The central element of the complex is the pagoda, rebuilt in the Newar style in the 19th century , which houses the cult image - a lingam - which is inaccessible to non- Hindus .
Particularly noteworthy are the sculptures of Hindu deities surrounding the central pagoda, some of which date from before the conquest of the valley by the Malla . Noteworthy, among other things, are a greatly reduced replica of the cult image of Budhanilkantha and the metal-covered statue of Nandi erected to the west of the pagoda .
Other buildings can be found in the complex - next to the Parvati shrine already mentioned, northeast of the pagoda is the pavilion- style Vishnu Paduka , in which the footprint of Vishnu , immortalized on a metal plate, is venerated. The core area of the temple, which also includes the Ghats at Bagmati and some cremation platforms, is surrounded by a wall; outside this core area there are other buildings, such as pilgrims' hostels and a shrine completely overgrown by a fig tree .
Festivals
The pilgrimage to Gokarna Mahadev reaches its climax as part of the Gokarna Aunsi. This new moon night in August or September serves not only to worship Shiva but also to worship the fathers, which is why this day in Nepal is called Father's Day or Bubako mukh herne din ( Nepali for “see your father's face” ). The lingam in the central pagoda of the temple is a symbol of a direct connection to the soul of the dead, who were especially venerated on this day.
The complex of Gokarna Mahadev is then visited by numerous followers of Shiva, who offer fruits, sweets and eggs to the lingam after they have performed their ritual ablutions in the sacred Bagmati River. Ball-shaped sweets made especially for this occasion from rice or barley flour - called pinda - are given to the holy river or fed to holy cows.
gallery
- Gokarna Mahadev Temple
Vishnu Paduka, pilgrim hostels and a shrine overgrown by a fig tree
Carvings on the west side of the pagoda
literature
- Around Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Map Publisher Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu 2009.
- John Sanday: Collins illustrated guide to the Kathmandu valley. The Guidebook Company, Landon 1989, ISBN 0-00215-215-0 .
- Baedeker Allianz travel guide Nepal. 2nd Edition. Verlag Karl Baedeker, Ostfildern 1999, ISBN 3-89525-012-0 .
- Rainer Krack: Nepal - Kathmandu Valley. Reise Know-How Verlag Rump, Bielefeld 2009, ISBN 978-3-8317-1793-4 .
- Joseph Bindloss, Trent Holden, Bradley Mayhew: Nepal. 8th edition. Lonely Planet Publications, Melbourne 2009, ISBN 978-1-74104-832-2 .