Have you ever thought about how Pashupati was formed? That same sacred place where millions of people visit every. But it was not the same just about 500 years ago.
The story behind it!
Once, lord Shiva was playing peacefully in the forest disguised as a deer. I know its kind unusual but that was how gods or goddess used to disguise themselves ages ago. Lord Vishnu did not know what was going and that deer was actually lord Shiva, so Lord Vishnu pulled the deer’s horn. The horn was so powerful and magical that it broke into three pieces. One fell right on the ground and formed a sacred rock called the ‘Jyoti Linga’. many people didn’t really care about it and just left it alone for ages. Soon, the Jyoti Linga was covered in mud and thick dirt. One, day a cow named ‘Kamadhenu’ gave milk at the same location where the Jyoti Linga was formed.
The cow didn’t stop in just one day it just repeated it for a lot of days. The farmer was sick and tired of the cow”s behaviour I mean who wouldn’t right? He was perplexed and puzzled thinking of how to solve this serious problem. The farmer came to a stop and started to think of digging a hole. When he dug the whole a luminous light came shinning bright from the dug up hole. Then also people didn’t really care!
So a local king from the ancient time started to take action and his name was ‘king Supuspa Deva’. He thought the Jyoti Linga was a special gift from the god and and he found it extraordinary. The king did not think of much. He just built a small wooden house around the jyoti linga to protect it at any cost. Despite the hard work, termites(a bug that eats wood) ate the wood and the linga was bare.
About three years ago a king called ‘Bhupatindra Malla’ decided to really make the jyoti linga like a fully renovated temple. He added a golden roof on top made with real gold making the temple look outstanding and extra ordinary than others. The gold also lightens up in the sunlight. Later on a kind named Dhupatindra malla decided to put a statue of a guardian bull as protection named ‘Nandani’ remarking it as the lord Shiva’s favourite animal to ride. The roof also has a shining golden spiral that point towards the sky.
Pashupatinath Temple Now.
Now, pashupatinath temple has a beautiful river called bagmati that flows right past the temple. Because the river’s water touches the Shiva’s ground people believe the water itself is sacred and holy. On the one side of the river, people sing and pray while in the other there is a deep forest where monkeys live peacefully. If you visit the temple now you will see hundreds of monkeys swinging from one place to another. Now what are you waiting for grab your car keys and go visit pashupatinath temple. If you don’t then I will! #nepal
By Aakriti Pandeya, Class 5, Nisarga Batika School
