Nepal Pilgrimage

The Pashupatinath temple in the east of Kathmandu has been a religious site for both Hindus and Buddhists for maybe over 2000 years. Daily thousends of pilgrims visit Pashupatinath, with a top day on Maha Shivaratri when hunderds of thousends of pilgrims come to pay their tribute to Shiva. The Pashupatinath temple complex is one of the Unesco world heritage sites of the Kathmandu Valley.

Pashupatinath is the biggest Shiva temple complex in the world and consist of 492 temples and more than one thousend Shiva lingams. The Pashupatinath temple is a pagoda style temple with a golden roof and a massif silver door. Inside is the holy Shiva lingam of Pashupatinath the lord of the Animals an avatar of Shiva. The Shiva Lingam is four faced but it is said it has an for ordinairy people invisble fifth face.

As per tradition the priests of the Pashupatinath temple come from the south of India. A long tradition which is said to be installed by Sage Sankaracharya. The priest come everyday to the temple between 8 and 9 am to lead the offerings and bath the Shiva Lingam which is also done around 5 pm.

Besides the Shivalingam there is a shrine for Unmatta Bhairava which is one of the eight forms of Bhairava the angry form of Shiva. 

The temple streches up to the Bagmati river where you find the "Arya Ghat". The most importent cremation ground of the Kathmandu Valley. All importent people and others who can afford it are cremated here. Different castes have different places at the ghat to burn their death.

The Panch Deval temple complex on the Pashupatinath ground is a house for the elderly. Dying and being burnt on these grounds helps in the process of reaching moksh or incarnate into a good next life.

History of the Pashupatinath temple

Old sources say that the first Pashupatinath temple has been built on this spot by a Lichchhavi king named Supus Padava. The book Chronology And History of Nepal: From 600 BC to 880 AD authored by Dr. Kashi Prasad Jaiswal claims that Pashupreksha who was the third Lichchavi king after they invaded Nepal around 100 - 200 AD and built the first Pashuphatinath temple. 
The Pashupatinath temple is also mentioned in the ancient script Nepal Mahatma as an Mahatirtha. (Big temple complex next to a river).
An inscription found on a broken pillar in the courtyard of Pashupatinath dates back to 459 AD.
In 1349 the Sultan Samsuddin from Bengal invaded Nepal in a search for gold Nepal with an army of thirty thousend soldiers. He destroyed the Pashupatinath temple and broke the holy Shiva lingam in three pieces. The broken lingam was replaced a few years later by the prime minister of Nepali King Arjun Deva.

The Shiva Lingam in the Pashupatinath temple can only be touched by the four priest of the temple who according to a long tradition that dates back to the 6th century always come from the south of India. It is said that the Indian priest tradition was started by Malla kings on the request of the great Indian philosopher Adi Shankara from Kerala who was on tour through India and Nepal to spread his Advaita Vedanta philosophie. One of the reason for the request to appoint south Indian priest to the temple is said to stop human sacrefices which apparently took place at the Pashupatinath temple.   

There is an recent Indian story that during a drought in 1964 the people of kathmandu pleased Pashupatinath by filling the temple with the last bits of water until the Shivalingam drowned in the water. At that very moment dark clouds arrived and heavy rainfalls made an end to the drought. I could not find any other sources, than the book Encyclopaedia of the Śaivism, Volume 1, which tells the above story in more detail.    

Myths origin Pashupatinath temple

There are several myths connected with the pashupatinath temple and a few are about it's origin.

One populair myth is that the area around Pashupatinath became Shiva´s second home after Mount Kailash.

_{How Shiva and Paravati became residents of the Kathmandu Valley}

Shiva left Mount Kailash to dissapear for humans and gods to stroll as a dear in Sleshsmantak forrest. (Just a small forrest (Mrigasthali forest) at the Pashupati area still remains here).  Only after all the gods searched for Shiva and after receiving a tip from Shiva's Bull guard Nandi they found Shiva in the form of Pashupatinath (Lord of the Animals) in the Kathmandu Valley. Somewhere between the current Pashupatinath temple and Gokarna which lies north east of Pashupatinath temple. Shiva refused to come back, only after the gods catched him at his horn and Shiva dissapeared in the sky, and the Gods begged and made intensive prayers Shiva promissed to come back and stay at Pashpatinath. Parvati was worried where she would stay but Shiva said she would also stay with him since she was already here because close to Pashupatinath is the spot where a piece of fell on the earth Sita when Shiva was carrying her arround.  And so became Pashupatinath Nepals home to Shiva and Parvati. Read the complete story about how Shiva and Parvati came to the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal

How shiva's face fall down at the banks the Bagmati river

Another story about the origin of the Pashupatinath temple is based on the Mahabharata the Hindu epic in which a big war (with demons and gods) plays a big part of the story. This myths says that the winners of the war the Pandevas want Shiva to free them from their sins they commited during the war. Shiva is not intrested in doing that so he tries to avoid the Pandevas. But they are persistent and in the end they can catch a small piece of Shiva (his back) the rest fall is pieces and is scatered over the earth. Shiva's face landed at the area of Pashupatinath, making it a very importent place for whorship. more about this myth can be read on Pashupatinath makes Dwadash Jyotirlinga yatra complete

Visiting the Pashupatinath Temple

The Pashupatinath Temple is forbidden for non Hindu's. Even former India's Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and his wife Sonia Gandhi were refused entrance in the past. (Which led to some political huha between Nepal and India). 

Tourist and other non Hindu visitors are allowed to visit the temple complex around the main temple. Here is still a lot to see. No SAARC tourist have to pay a 500 rs entrance fee which is used to preserve the Unesco monument.

Festivals: Shivarati held once a year (february)

Information from:

The Glory of Nepal - A mythological guidebook to Kathmandu Valley - William P. Forbes
Pashupatinath Temple Wikipedia
Temples of the Kathmandu Valley
A Kushan-period Sculpture
Many Legends of Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu
Encyclopaedia of the Śaivism, Volume 1
The sacred complex of Kathmandu, Nepal; Religion of the Himalayan kingdom - Makhan Jha