With a blessed sigh, we briefly escaped Delhi’s searing summer and headed 32 km east of Kathmandu to Nagarkot perched at 7,200 ft above sea level, which is home to the Tamang and Bahun communities. Draped in dense pine forests, this monsoon-drenched hill station is renowned for stunning views of sunrise and sunsets over the glorious Himalayas.
Mist-laden skies meant our lifetime’s chance of sighting Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), Gauri Shankar, Langtang, Annapurna and Ganesh Himal was quashed! Lamely settling for a Rs.35 labelled depiction of panoramic peaks visible from Nagarkot, Daman, Pokhra, Dhulikhel and Kakani, we trekked some, then drove out to seemingly nondescript Changu Narayan for its ancient Vishnu temple, reportedly the oldest in Nepal.
Past the medieval capital, Bhaktapur, 16 km away, beyond the tiny hamlet, Dekoche, we climbed 6 km to Changu Narayan’s hilltop that overlooks ancient Sankhu village nearby.
Beside the steps leading to the temple were two-and three-storied, lovely, traditional Newari brick-and-wood buildings housing handicraft shops. Some displayed flexible wooden ties, colourful masks, Thangka paintings, Buddhist chants CDs, Newari wood carvings and one had a lady spinning a charkha. A sunken fountain had its sculpted spout held in place by barbed wire.
The utterly rustic atmosphere shorn of tourists had us unprepared for the architectural gem that lay at the top, for Changu Narayan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1979), one of seven in Kathmandu Valley.
We arrived at an L-shaped pavilion that has idols of Bhim-sen, Draupadi and Dwarpals. Bhim of Mahabharata is held in high stature as a god of trade and commerce by Newars, the indigenous inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley.
An archway led into a courtyard where a double-roofed red brick pagoda temple stood squarely on a stone plinth. The distinctive multiple-pagoda style, we learned, with surprise, originated in Nepal, inspired by Himalayan cedars (deodar) and thence spread afar.
Walking clockwise we saw a little vermillion-stained Ganesha shrine alongside an incomplete stone carving of an elephant. Two large bells flanked a 17th Century Shakti cult shrine dedicated to Chhinnamasta — the beheaded one. Two stone lions guarded its three golden doorways.
As multi-armed, multi-headed tantric figures gazed down at us from multiple-level roof struts of the main temple, we stood bedazzled by the epitome of skilled Newari wood, metal and stone craftsmanship. Stupendous wood carvings, bas-relief figures, intricate gilt-work, stone sculptures like griffins, elephants, lions and sarabhas flank the four doorways.
Masterpieces fashioned in the hoary past — as far back as the fourth and 18th century — are strewn all over in such profusion that, according to Nepal’s Department of Archaeology, “this place also can be taken as an open air Museum of Arts, Architecture, Culture and History.”
The small Kileswor Mahadev temple had us agape as every inch of wood was richly carved with serpents, floral motifs, mythical and human figures. All temples were mostly closed, except the main temple.
We were in luck! The priest said the temple timings are usually 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. but the annual Champaka rohana celebration was that very day, hence the temple was open and we got to see the deity — Vishnu astride Garuda.
Facing the main idol is a life-size Garuda installed in 464 AD by King Manadev I together with inscriptions on a pillar in Licchavi script but Sanskrit language. It refers to his exploits, his ancestors and this temple’s existence since 4th century AD.
Nearby, inside a small ornate gilded cage, are statues of King Bhupalendra Malla and Queen Hriddhi Laxmi. They had built Kileswor temple in 1691 AD and restored Changu Narayan temple in 1702 after a fire had ravaged the earlier structure.
Interestingly, on either side of the entrance, atop two tall pillars were large metal motifs of Vishnu’s shankh, conch shell, and chakra , disc. Below were sculpted a large tortoise and a coiled serpent. Massive bells, a familiar sight in Nepalese temples, hung on either side.
We were spellbound by Dasavatar , Vishnu’s 10 incarnations, depicted on struts of overhanging eaves. We learned that Buddhists equally revere this temple believing it is dedicated to Hari Hari Hari Vahana Lokeshvara.
