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Nepal > Patan
Patan Durbar Square
 The ancient name of Patan is Lalitpur, meaning city of beauty. It is indeed a
city of beauty and grace and is planned on a circular format with Buddhist
stupas at each of the four points of the compass. The city is three kilometres
south-east of Kathrnandu across the southern bank of the river Bagmati. Like
Kathmandu, its most photogenic centre of attraction is its Durbar Square
complex, situated right in the middle of the market place. The city is full of
Buddhist monuments and Hindu temples, with fine bronze gateways, guardian
deities also and wonderful carvings. Noted for its craftsmen and metal workers,
it is also known as the city of artists. The city is believed to have been built
during the reign of Vira Deva in 299 A.D. Some of Patan's more important
mounments are as follows:
Durbar Square-This whole square is a cluster of fine pagoda temples and stone
statues; it is at the same time the business hub of the city. At every step one
comes across a piece of art or some images of various deities, testifying to the
consummate skill of Patan's anonymous artists. The ancient palace of the Malla
kings and the stone waterbaths associated with various legends and episodes of
history are especially interesting to visitors. The stone temple of Lord Krishna
and the Royal Bath (Tushahity) with its intricate stone and bronze carvings are
two other masterpieces in the same vicinity.
Hiranya Varna Mahavibar-This three-storeyed golden pagoda of Lokeshwar (Lord
Buddha) was built in the twelfth century A.D. by King Bhaskar Varma. Located in
the courtyard of Kwabahal, this temple belongs to a class of its own. A golden
image of Lord Buddha and a big prayer wheel can be seen on the pedestal of the
upper part of the Vihar while intricate decorative patterns, worked out on its
outer walls, add charm to the mellow richness of the shrine.
Kumbheshwar-This is a five-storeyed pagoda-style temple of Lord Shiva. Inside
the courtyard is a natural spring having its source, it is said, in the famous
glacial lake of Gosainkunda. This temple was built by King Jayasthiti Malla
while the golden finial was added later in 1422 A.D. He also cleaned the pond
near Kumbheshwar and installed various images of Narayan, Ganesh, Sitala, Basuki,
Gauri, Kirtimukh and Agamadevata around the pond and in the courtyard. Ritual
bathing takes place here every year on the day of Janai Poornima.
Kumbheshwar
Jagat Narayan-The Jagat Narayan temple is a tall Shikhara-style temple
consecrated to Lord Vishnu. The temple is built out of the red bricks on the
bank of the Sagmati at Sankharnul and enshrines many stone images. The fine
metal statue of Garuda placed on a stone monolith is quite eye-catching along
with similarly placed images of Ganesh and Hanuman.
Krishna Temple-The temple of Lord Krishna holds a commanding position in Patan's
palace complex. Though its style is not wholly native, it is reckoned to be one
of the most perfect specimens of the Nepalese templecraft. The three-storeyed
stone temple continues to elicit high praise from lovers of art and beauty. It
was built by King Siddhi Narasingha Malla in the sixteenth century A.D. Most of
the important scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics have been carved in
bas-relief. The minute details of this relief work clearly show the high level
that the art of stone carving had attained in the sixteenth century.
Mahaboudba-The temple of Mahaboudha is a masterpiece of brick and tile. Like the
Krishna Mandir, it reveals an art tradition which evolved outside of Nepal; it
also shows that the native craftsmanship of the Nepalese can do proper justice
to any art form. This temple was built by Abhaya Raj, a priest of Patan and is
sometimes referred to as the temple of a million Buddhas because every single
brick depicts a small image of Buddha an astonishing total of nine thousand
bricks. It was levelled to the ground in the great earthquake of 1933 but was
rebuilt exactly to the original specifications, thus proving that templecraft is
still one of the living arts of Napal.
Rudra Varna Mahavihar-This is one of Patan's oldest Buddhist monasteries.
Adjacent to the monastery there is a temple that contains a fine image of Lord
Buddha. The courtyard of this temple is like a gallery of different bronze and
stone art works.
Popularly believed, though not scholastically endorsed, to have been built by
Ashoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India, these stupas stand at four different
corners of Patan giving the whole city a monastic character. All these Buddhist
mounds were built in 250 A.D. at the time when Buddhism was making headway to
the Kathmandu Valley.
Machchhendranath-The temple of Machchhendranath is another centre of attraction
in Patan. The temple lies in the middle of a wide spacious quadrangle just at
the outer rim of the market place. A fine clay image of Avalokiteshwar or red
Machchhendranath is housed here for six months every year after which it is
taken round the city of Patan in a colourful chariot festival beginning in
April-May and lasting sometimes for several months, (see festival section).
The Tibetan Camp-An attraction of a different kind is the Tibetan Camp on the
outskirts of Patan. The small Tibetan population living here has set up a number
of shrines and stupas as well as several souvenir shops offering authentic
Tibetan handicrafts such as prayer wheels of wood, ivory, silver or bronze, long
temple horns made of beaten copper, belt buckles, miniature thunderbolts and
jewellery. In this area, one can also see the Tibetans weaving carpets by hand.
Click here for a full list of all Kathmandu hotels & accommodation as well as hotels in Chitwan, Dhulikhel, Lumbini, Nagarkot and Pokhara.
To facilitate your Nepalese experience, we recommend tour guide:
Rabin Baral
Phone: 009 779 851 004 859
Email: baral.rabin@gmail.com
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