Changu Narayan is the oldest temple in the Kathmandu Valley and also one of the most interesting ensembles. The temple itself is dedicated to Vishnu (most often called Narayan in Nepal) and stands in a spacious courtyard littered with priceless stone sculptures from the 4th to 9th centuries AD. Especially worth mentioning are the lion-headed Vishnu Narasimha, dismembering the king of the demons; Vishnu with ten heads and ten arms going through the different layers of the universe; Vishnu Vikrantha, a dwarf with six arms. The oldest piece is Garuda, the mythical half-bird half-man, Narayan’s mount which dates back to the 5th century (Changu is one of Garuda names).
Nearby the oldest stone inscription so far found in Nepal – it dates back to the 5-6th century and its inscription is dedicated to King Mana Deva.
The lavishly decorated two-tiered temple was rebuilt after a fire in 1702 and after an earthquake in 1934.
Changu Naryan temple is the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Nice photos. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to Nepal soon, so I'm reading up a bit about it on the internet. Extremely exited about going there :)
ReplyDeleteVery nice. But now much of the temple has been destroyed.
ReplyDeleteThe main temple took some minor damages that have been mended. However, four temples in the complex took substantial damage (two are reconstructed already by this time). The sattals and pati around the complex also took damage.
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