Summary

Camera location	27° 43′ 01.92″ N, 85° 19′ 26.4″ E	View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap	27.717200; 85.324000

The famous Guhyeshwari Temple is located on the banks of the Bagmati River on the east side of Gaurighat, about 1 km from Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu. This temple is located at the foot of Shleshmantak forest. This temple is considered as the main Shakti Pith. According to Tantra Chudamanika, Guhyeshwari was established as Shaktipith at the place where Goddess Sati fell. These goddesses are also called Guhriyakali. According to the Himavatkhand Purana, the origin of these Guhyeshwaris is said to be with Pashupatinath. Guhyeshwari is considered to be the second most important Shakti Pith after the Kamrup Kamakhya Shakti Pith in India. That is why Indian devotees come to this temple a lot. These goddesses are considered as one of the 51 Goddess Shaktipiths. Evidence of its establishment during the Lichhavi period and the construction of the temple during the Malla period can be inferred from the sculptures, architecture and woodwork here. According to the Devmala genealogy, Guhyeshwari was disappearing like a pond in the form of Jal Jyoti in the ornaments of 5.6 million deities. Later, during the reign of King Shankardev, a man named Nrusinha Thakur came to Nepal. They built a temple. On the advice of Guru Lambakarna during the reign of King Pratap Malla, the temple was demolished on the day of Baishakh Shukla Ekadashi in 774 BS. It is also mentioned that a statue of a lion was placed on a stone pillar outside the temple and a guthi was arranged by Bajracharya for daily worship, Mahabhog, Dasakarma, etc. In this temple, King Ran Bahadur Shah kept Gujarati baja, nagara, etc. for three periods in 1700 BS. Similarly, in 1901 BS, Jang Bahadur Rana covered Bhairav with gold leaf in Ashta Dal Padmakar and also offered gold urn and silver worship vessel inlaid with Navratna. At the same time, Rajvaidha Chakrapani made four golden snakes and placed them at the four corners of the tank to beautify the temple. In 1965, Yin renovated everything, including the Ashta Dal, by printing tiles on the ground and walls, and later by Judd Shamsher. Inside the temple, after descending four steps below the ground, there is this Guhyeshwari Shaktipit under the octahedral canopy surrounded by brass and silver serpents. In the same place there is a hole as a symbol of Guhyeshwari Bhagwati, in the same hole or water tank a full silver urn is installed. Above the tank and the rock is a statue folded with gold leaf. There is a goddess in the form of a silver urn on the tank. The temple is worshiped according to the Tantric Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. Hindus worship this goddess as Kali, Durga, Bhagwati, while Buddhists worship Hembraj as Nairatma. This goddess is also called Bhringeshwari. There is an anecdote here that Adhguru Shankaracharya came to worship and adore Guhriyeshwari. Devotees throng here on the great festival of Nepalis, Bijayadashami. There are various goddesses in this Pashupati region such as Guhyeshwari, Jhankeshwari, Bhubaneswari, Vajreshwari, Mangleshwari, Rajarajeshwari, Vatsaleshwari and Jayavageshwari. King Pratap Malla revived this temple and installed a crystal urn covered with a lotus-shaped lid with eight leaves. This tank is believed to have been discovered by Suryavanshi king Shankardev by a Tantric named Nrusinha Thakur. There is a belief that whoever listens to the Mahatma of this Guhriyeshwari increases his age, wealth and fame, the enemy will be defeated in the war and what he has in mind will be fulfilled. The temple is decorated with metal, silver, copper and brass. As this temple is located in a wide area, there are many pavis and pavas here. The best example is the woodwork here. गुध्यकाली स्तोत्र काली काली महाकाली कालिके पापहारिणी । धर्ममोक्षप्रदे देवि गुहृयकाली नमोsस्तु ते ।।

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