Budhanilkantha or famously Naranthan

Lord Vishnu

For every occasion, whether it's birthday, wedding anniversary, annaprasna, etc, I with family would go to this temple. It surprised me to see my appalled friends who had visited temple for  first time, for them worshiping humongous Lord Vishnu reclining on bed serpent was a rare view and for me it was a regular since birth. I mean, who wouldn't be if you see 5 meters tall black stone structure carved calmly reclining on the coils of the cosmic serpents called Shesah positioned in the middle of a recessed pool of water. But there is miniature replica of it in Balaju, specially carved for Shah Kings of Nepal. Legend has it Shah Kings of Nepal were and are still forbidden His view. Royals will be chased by serpents if they set foot at this temple.

I have heard and believed that when entrance stairs is climbed holding breath can make any wish come true so I always follow the procedure in the hopes of getting boons. I bow the first stair and holding breath run-climb stairs to reach atop vicinity. First thing first, there is a small niche for Saraswati, Goddess of Knowledge, pay homage there, then worship Ganesh housed on the right side of main temple. Then comes turn of Lord Vishnu himself. What I don't like about the main deity now is, we cannot touch his feet, instead, the temple committee has installed a pair of feet, similar to that of Balaji in South India, next to Lord's feet and devotees are now only allowed to perform puja on it. After Lord Vishnu turn right and worship Laxmi, Goddess of Wealth; then Lord Krishna, the naughtiest of all Hindu Gods;  then Shiva, our very own patron deity of Kathamndu, and you are back to Saraswati, where you started. By this time you have circumambulated Lord Vishnu.

My dad's cousin was a Sadhavi and she lived here and took care of temple with Guru Maharaj and other novice monks. I still remember the two storey mud house standing on the left side of vicinity. As soon as worshiping Lord there, I used to climb log ladder to meet Dijju (Phupu, but we fondly called her dijju) in hopes of getting favorite fruits and sweets that were offered to god by pilgrims. My favorite was haluwa swari, and she made the best haluwa of all. She was a gorgeous lady clad in saffron always wearing a big matted-hair-bun and a bright smile on face, and she would hug us all with much love.
I miss her when I visit the temple these days, it's been more than twenty years since she is gone. I love this temple very much because of the precious childhood memories I have here but with all the new developments, buildings, new faces,  my attachment to the temple is abating.

Location: Budhanilkantha At the foothill of Shiva Puri
Getting There: By Bus/Micro Vans along the Route #5

Gauri Ghat

Goddess Gauri

My first post as Ask Me About Nepal. I thought why not start with Gauri Ghat, as we have just passed Holy month of Magh. Magh is an auspicious month as mentioned in Swasthani. What is Swasthani? It's another story for another day.

Gauri Ghat, a ghat for Goddess Gauri on the bank of holy Bagmati river and is located on the northern side of the famous Pashupatinath temple, a patron deity of Kathmandu. Gauri is consort of Lord Shiva, here you can see head and shoulder cut of Gauri peeking out of rocks. Pilgrims fill water in hand cupped together from Bagmati river and pour over the Gauri, then worship her with vermilion power (abeer), rice (akshata), flower and fruits at and conclusion offer incense and oil-wick lamps. Pilgrims alternatively also flow oil wick burning on tapari (leaf saucer) on Bagmati river. There is also Lord Ganesh on the other side of bank, sitting alone, no body to propitiate Him as there is no way to wade through that polluted yet Holy water of Bagmati. In fact Bagmati is so polluted I could offer it to Gauri Mata (Mother) but couldn't sprinkle on myself as purification ritual. I quickly had to use hand sanitizer when I offered Bagmati water as part of ritual.
Huge Monkey God, Hanuman squats next to Gauri, what could be the relation? Hanuman is Lord Ram Devout. Anyway, Hanuman reminds of other locomotive hanumans that roam around temple terrifying devotees, snatching fruits from them. I mean monkeys. There are no mischievous monkeys in any other temples than found in Pashupatinath area. They are always on toes to terrorize devotees, especially women and children carrying bags. Hence, devotees are more cautious about monkeys than praying to the Goddess.

Oil Lamp and Incense offering at the bank of Bagmati

There are other gods and goddess niched on wall behind Hanuman. The bridge-walkway is either lined up by offering sellers or alms collector, that is general views (GVs) outside any Hindu temple in Kathmandu.

Location: On the way to Guheswari Temple,
Getting there: 10 minutes walk from Chabahil along Bagmati River.