ORIGIN OF THE PASHUPATINATH TEMPLE

There are innumerable temples related to Hinduism spread across Nepal. The origin a of the temple of Pashupatinath, y renowned as a major religious y center of the Hindus, is wrapped s around many tales. It is generally n believed that lord Shiva very e much favored the Shleshmantak y forest and frequented the dense forest along with his consort e Parbati in the form of deer. During I one of such sojourns Lord Shiva a remained absent for too long time D disturbing the normal functioning y of the universe. Considering the e gravity of the situation, other .1 principal Hindu deities Vishnu, Bramha and indra set off to look for Shiva. They found Shiva in the Sleshmantak forest roaming around in form of a majestic stag with a single horn and three eyes. The gods recognized Shiva and caught him by his horn, but the horn broke apart during the scuffle and each of the Gods was left with a piece of the horn. They established the broken pieces of horn around the Pashupatinath area as a Shiva Lingam while Shiva took a form of a Jyotirtinga (Pillar of Light) that was established at the western bank of the Bagmati River as Lord Pashupatinath. The landscape changed with the passage of time and the dense forest gave way to fertile plains and it was later occupied by people who grazed their cattle around the site. One day their most productive cow stopped giving milk. When cowherds decided to follow the cow to find out the reason they were amazed to see the cow releasing milk at one specific point. When the herders dug the site they discovered the divine Shiva Lingam, where they established the temple of Pashupatinath. It is thus believed that the lingam situated at the western bank of the Bagmati River, besides the idol of Biruapaksha, is the original deity of the Pashupatinath Temple.

 The Pashupatinath Tei which is located at Gaus Deupatan area of Kathmaix a major pilgrimage site fa Hindus. According to the relii scriptures, Lord Pashupall is worshipped as the protl deity of the Hindus. The id is also one of the renowned religious sites of the wo temple complex sprawls a vast area that has aro temples and idols of 1 gods and goddesses and ands of Shiva Ungam. The ie has been in existence since nt period. The main temple s a four-faced lingam of lord L Likewise, the walls and in the vicinity of the temple adorned with woodcrafts rig to lord Shiva. According ditional beliefs, the Shiva In was established during *31.1 of King Supushpadev Ia Lichhavi dynasty of rvanshi lineage. Being a .religious site of the Hindus, an of devotees come to I every year to offer worship ! temple. Only Hindus are ad to enter the temple.