Nyatapola Temple
Nyatapola | |
---|---|
𑐒𑐵𑐟𑐵𑐥𑑀𑐮 | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Tantrism[1] |
District | Bhaktapur |
Province | Bagmati Province |
Deity | Devi in the form of Siddhi Lakshmi[2] |
Location | |
Location | Tamārhi tvā Bhaktapur, Nepal |
Country | Nepal |
Geographic coordinates | 27°40′17″N 85°25′43″E / 27.67139°N 85.42861°E |
Architecture | |
Type | Traditional Nepalese architecture[3] |
Founder | Bhupatindra Malla |
Completed | 15 July 1702 |
Specifications | |
Height (max) | 33.23 m (108.26 ft)[4] |
Elevation | 1,401 m (4,596 ft)[4] |
Nyātāpola (from Nepal Bhasa: 𑐒𑐵𑐟𑐵𑐥𑑀𑐮, "ṅātāpola", lit. 'something with five storey') is a five tiered temple located in the central part of Bhaktapur, Nepal.[5][6] It is the tallest monument within the city and is also the tallest temple of Nepal. This temple was commissioned by King Bhupatindra Malla, the construction of which lasted for six months from December 1701 to July 1702.[7] The temple has survived four major earthquakes and its aftershocks including the recent 7.8 magnitude April 2015 earthquake which caused major damage the city of Bhaktapur.[8]
The Nyatapola is noted for its unique architecture as it is one of only two five storey temples in the Kathmandu Valley, the other one being the Kumbheshvara in Lalitpur and its five level plinth which along with steps to the top part also contains pairs of stone statues of animals and deities serving as the temple's guardians.[9] Along with the Bhairava temple and other historical monuments, the Nyatapola forms the Tamārhi square, which forms the central and culturally the most important part of Bhaktapur and a popular tourist destination.
The temple itself has no religious significance to the locals; it is culturally used as a symbol of Bhaktapur. Its silhouette is used by the municipality in its coats of arms as well as by most of the corporations of the city. Reaching to a height of 33 m (108.26 ft), the Nyatapola temple dominates the skyline of Bhaktapur and is the tallest monument there.[5] The Nyatapola Square also divides the town of Bhaktapur into two parts: Thané (lit. 'Upper one') and Konhé (lit. 'Lower one').[10]
The gates of the temple is only opened once a year in July on the anniversary of its establishment during which the Avāla subgroup of the Newars plant a triangular flag on its top and the Karmacharya priests perform a ritual on the deity.[11] Since the public is not allowed in, the deity housed inside is also not known to the public although it is generally accepted that the temple houses a powerful Tantric incarnation of the mother goddess.[5] Even the contemporary manuscript dealing with the construction of the temple does not mention the name of the deity housed inside.[12]
Etymology
Nyatapola is regarded as unique in terms of its name as it one of the only few temples which is not named after the deity residing inside it.
The name "𑐒𑐵𑐟𑐵𑐥𑑀𑐮 (ṅātāpola)" has been in use since its construction as the temple was referred as such in the ledger of its construction work.[4] Historian Purushottam Lochan Shrestha found a damaged stone inscription being used as a step ladder by soldiers housed in Bhaktapur Durbar Square which uses uses the word "𑐒𑐵𑐟𑐵𑐥𑑀𑐮 (ŋ̊ātāpola)" to refer to the temple.[15] Raj Man Singh Chitrakar who drew a sketch of the Nyatapola temple in 1844 has inscribed this temple as "Gniato Polo temple of Devi".[16] Similarly, Henry Ambrose Oldfield who painted this temple in 1854 has inscribed this temple as "Temple of Devi Bhagwati at Bhatgaon".[17]
History
Sources
Contrary to most of the temples and other important buildings from the Malla dynasty, a stone inscription affiliated to the Nyatapola, which is traditionally attached to the temple itself has not been found.[19] Historian Purushottam Lochan Shrestha found an extremely damaged stone inscription in Bhaktapur Durbar Square being used as a step ladder by the soldiers quartered there in which the name of the temple and a date in which was the date when the temple was consecrated was inscribed.[15] So, far it is the only Malla dynasty stone inscription in which its name is inscribed.
Therefore, the main source about the construction history of the Nyatapola comes from a
Hail the god
The construction of the Nyatapola was completed in a short period of six months mainly because all the required materials were already preapred.[22] Similarly, citizens from most cities within the Kingdom of Bhaktapur and the Kingdom of Lalitpur either directly helped in the construction or donated raw materials for it.[23]
In Nepalese architecture, wood and bricks are the main materials for construction. For the Nyatapola, timber was collected from November 1701. Workers from all the settlements within the
Apart from that
Most of the stones for the Nyatapola temple were donated by citizens and local heads of the twenty four historical districts of the city of
The statues of two wrestlers at the lowermost plinth were carved by a group of fourteen sculptors from Lalitpur, four of whom are labelled as 'child' in the manuscript.[35] The sculptors labelled as 'child' were Krishna Raj, who worked for 37 days, Raksmidhil, who worked 28 days, Chandrasingha, who worked for 27 days and Meru, who worked for 10 days.[36] The statues of the wrestlers were carved in 40 days at most and 4 days at least.[36]
The Nyatapola temple was made with 1,135,350 bricks plus additional 102,304 bricks were used to pave the plinths.[37] Additionally, bricks were used to pave the road and courtyards in the local Tamārhi district as well.[38] For the bricks, kilns were established in December 1701 at five spots around the city gates.[31] However, most of the bricks were bought from dealers and the siddhāgni koṭyāhuti devala pratiṣṭhā manuscript contains the name of the seller and the cost of bricks purchased.[31]
From 20 February 1702, the manufacturing of the gājula (golden pinnacle placed on the top of a temple) started.[39] The gājula was manufactured by a team of 40 smiths with Navamising as their leader who received one tolā of gold as a reward during the inauguration.[39] The gājula took 99 days to manufacture and was placed on top of the temple during the inauguration day.[40]
Similarly, nyākalis or metal workers started their work of making small wind bells from 16 November 1701.[41] For the bells, Bhupatindra Malla 493 mohar for 322 kg of brass and bronze while around 107 mohar from the savings of the Taleju temple were used to buy 250 kg of brass and bronze.[41] Altogether, 529 wind bells were made; 48 were hung on the topmost roof, 80 on the second, 104 on the third, 128 on the fourth and 168 were hung on the lowermost roof.[42] Among the 529 wind bells one remained as extra which the locals called an "unlucky bell".[42]
Where the Nyatapola temple exists today, there may have been a smaller five tiered temple.[43] The temple has been referred as "ṅātapula" in the "siddhāgni koṭyāhuti devala pratiṣṭhā" manuscript.[43] Although, no other historical records of the "ṅātapula" has been found and the manuscript itself only lists the temple once when it states that "the ṅātapula was demolished in order to construct the Nyatapola".[43] In order to make space for the construction of the temple, the acquisition of houses took place in Tamārhi district. [44] The "siddhāgni koṭyāhuti devala pratiṣṭhā" manuscript does not mention these events but Dūkhi Bhāro, whose property was seized for the construction has mentioned it in his version of Ramayana that he authored.[45]
On Wednesday of the seventh day of the bright half of the month of Asadha in
There is an area in eastern part of Bhaktapur called "palikhela" meaning "land given in exchange" in
Bhāro further writes that:This Lankākānda book was finished on the Monday of the sixth day of the bright half of the month of Māgha of Nepal Sambat 821. This was written by Dūkhi Bhāro. He wrote this with the hopes of clearing sorrows in his heart; Dūkhi did not write this to exhibit his knowledge and feed his pride. There may have been some errors on the letters, there may have been some mistakes. Readers are requested to not blame the author for his mistakes but a learned person is requested to mend the errors and mistakes in the author's writing. While writing this book, Dūkhi Bhāro's sons Rudrasing and Harising, daughters Mahesvari and Chandesvari, wife Sūkhū Māyā and mother Basundharā, all seven are in sound health. Right this moment, Sri Sri Bhupatindra Malla Deva has inaugurated Jaya and Pratap and Dūkhi Bhāro has completed his book. May all be well and fortunate. May wealth grow among all. May all who chant the name of Krishna, who write the good deeds of Krishna have a sound health and happy life, and spend his after life with Narayana in happiness and not have to reincarnate.
— Dūkhi Bhāro, Ramayana, Lankākānda[48]
Starting from Thursday, 25 December 1701, around 40–69 workers were hired to first demolish the "ṅātapula" and then to dig the foundation for the Nyatapola temple.[49] It took the workers six days to demolish the ṅātapula after which the required rituals for the new temple was completed.[49] On 4 January 1702, Bhupatindra Malla inaugurated the foundation by carrying three bricks on his shoulder and laying them on the foundation thereby commencing the construction work. After the inauguration waves of people from Bhaktapur, Thimi, Sanga, Dhulikhel, Banepa, Panauti, Chaukot, Shreekhandapur and the Kingdom of Lalitpur started coming regularly to assist the construction.[22] Since the raw materials were already prepared the construction picked up pace and after two months the five level plinth had been constructed.[50] In April, as the festival Biskāh jātrā approached, construction was temporarily halted for 15 days.[23] After the festival ended, monsoon season came near. So, the construction picked up speed; citizens from all over the Nepal Mandala assisted the construction and by 7 May 1702, the lowermost floor was tiled.[51]
Siddhāgni koṭyāhuti yagya
The siddhāgni koṭyāhuti yagya was a
Architectural elements
There are five plinths on the stairways to the entrance of the temple and each of the plinth has a pair of stone guardians. Each of the pair is said to ten times stronger than the one below them.[5] At the bottom are two Rajput wrestlers named Jai and Pratap who are said to be ten times stronger than normal men. Above them are the giant statues of two elephants and above them are the statues of two Singhas, which is a mythical big cat and can be found throughout South and Southeast Asia.[58][59] Above the cats are the statues of two Sārdūlas , a griffin-like creature of local Newari mythology.[59] And in the topmost plinths are the Tantric deities, Simhanī and Vyāghranī, the lioness and tigress deity who are the strongest of all the guardians.
There are also a total of five Ganesha idols on four shrines, one on each corner of the structure(one of the shrines, the south western one has two idols on one shrine)[9]
Siddhi Lakshmi
The temple of Nyatapola is dedicated to the Tantric deity of Siddhi Lakshmi who is considered the ancestral deity of the Malla royal family of Bhaktapur and is also regarded as the mother deity of the Newars of Bhaktapur.[60] She hold the topmost position in Tantric divinity and as a result her primary visage is kept secret from public. Only the Karmāchārya priests are allowed enter the temple.[9] Although, representation of her can be seen on carvings all over the temple, the primary image of the goddess is not shown to public.[9]
The image of Siddhi Lakshmi inside the temple is said to immensely beautiful and artistic and stands at least ten foot (3.048m) tall.[6] She is said to be standing with her feet on the shoulders of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva and she herself has 9 heads and 18 arms.[61] Her image is also surrounded by smaller images of numerous other deities.It is said that because her image was installed using Tantric methods, her image is hidden form the public.[9]
Cultural significance
Legend tells of the days when the Lord
The image of Siddhi Lakshmi is locked within the temple, and only the priests are allowed to enter to worship her. The five-storeyed temple, locally known as Nyatapola, stands in the northern side of Taumadhi Square in Bhaktapur. This is the only temple that is named after the dimension of architecture rather than from the name of the deity residing inside. The temple was erected in fewer than five months by King Bhupatindra Malla in 1701–1702 A.D.
Impact from earthquakes
The Bhairav kale survived the
Historical Sources and records
These details were found while going into the Siddhagni Kotyahuti Devala Pratistha manuscript.[66] From the start of digging the foundation to the completion of roofing, it took merely eighty-eight days. The excavation work for foundation lasted for seven days. Then was commenced construction of six plinths. That was accomplished in thirty-one days, and immediately after that started the erection of the superstructure. That was also completed within thirty-four days, after which roofing work was started from top to the lowest roof. In sixteen days all the five roofs were completed paving them with mini-tiles (Jhingati). Then they had to wait for an auspicious day for erecting the icons in the sanctum sanctorum and fix the pinnacle on the top of the temple. For this, they did wait for 38 days. In the meantime, the fire-sacrifice (Siddhagni Kotyahuti Yajna) was going on.
Presented here are six pages (three folios) of the facsimile copies of the manuscript which recorded major events from beginning to the end, as a summary of records in advance, incorporated in the manuscript containing 264 folios. There are fifty major records in the summary six-page facsimile.
The manuscript is preserved in the National Archives of Nepal. It is readily available for readers in microfilm as well, which can be read in the office or could be purchased in photocopy paying certain rupees per page.
The name of the manuscript is recorded as Siddhagni Kotyahuti Devala Pratistha. The name itself kept the enthusiasts on the subject of ancient architecture behind the curtain from knowing it. The accession number of the manuscript is ca. I. 1115 NGMPP micro number A 249/5. The manuscript is written in the Newar script in yellow Nepalese paper coated with Harital (orpiment). The size is 17.2 x 46.5 cm. Each page has nine lines. The manuscript has 264 folios, and the rest are missing Dr. Janak Lal Vaidya thinks. Some folios are ink-stained and some are damaged by rats. All the rest of the folios are in good condition.
Out of these six facsimile pages, Dr. Janak Lal Vaidya has published three folios (1, 2 and 4) without any transliteration and translation in Abhilekh No.8 published by the National Archives of Nepal. It is, however, necessary at least to give a full picture of the detailed records in those six important pages.
There is still interesting information contained in the following folios of the manuscript which were published by Dr. Janak Lal Vaidya in his articles published in Abhilekh, No. 8 and No. 14 and Kheluita No. 11 in English, Nepali and Newar respectively.
Gallery
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Festival
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Wooden construction details
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Wooden construction
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Nyatpola & Bhairav Temples
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Bhairav Temple from Nyatpola
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Taumadhi Square
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Wooden wheels of a disassembled festival cart for Bisket Jatra
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Bhojanalaya overlooking the temples
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Wide view of Nyatapola Temple
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Another Side of Nyatapola Temple
Notes
References
Citations
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 37.
- ^ a b Vaidya 2004, p. 56.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 36.
- ^ a b c d Vaidya 2004, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d "Nyatapola, the tallest pagoda of Nepal". Bhaktapur.com. 2019.
- ^ a b c Dhaubhadel 2021, pp. 33–50.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2018, p. 43«pp»48.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 40.
- ^ a b c d e f Arora, Vanicka (2021). "Five Stories of Nyatapola Temple" (PDF). Our World Heritage.
- ^ Machamasi, Amit (2021). "Biska celebration begins in Bhaktpaur". Nepali Times.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 48.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 66.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 120.
- ISBN 9789937080712.
- ^ a b Shrestha, Purushottam Lochan (1 February 2022). "भक्तपुरका असुरक्षित अभिलेख– ४". Online Majdoor. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ "The Nyatapola Temple, Bhatgaon". Global Nepali Museum. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ Oldfield, Henry Ambrose (1974). Sketches from Nepal, Historical and Discriptive, with an Essay on Nepalese Buddhism & Illustrations of Religions Monuments & Architecture. Cosmo Publications. p. 8.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 401.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 38.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 2.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 113.
- ^ a b Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 44.
- ^ a b Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 45.
- ^ a b c Vaidya 2004, p. 80.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 28.
- ^ a b c Vaidya 2004, p. 81.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 82.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 84.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 85.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 86.
- ^ a b c Vaidya 2004, p. 27.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 88.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 98.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Vaidya 2004, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Vaidya 2004, p. 30.
- ^ a b Vaidya 2004, p. 141.
- ^ a b Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 52.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 109.
- ^ a b Vaidya 2004, p. 37.
- ^ a b Vaidya 2004, p. 38.
- ^ a b Vaidya 2004, p. 31.
- ^ a b Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 55.
- ^ a b c Vaidya 2004, p. 8.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 39.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 36.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 73.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 9.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 76.
- ^ a b Vaidya 2004, p. 26.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2018, p. 44.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2018, p. 46.
- ^ a b Buhnemann, Gudrun (June 2021). "Hanumān worship under the kings of the late Malla period in Nepal". Tantric Communities in Context. Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna: 425–468.
- ^ a b c Vaidya 2004, p. 53.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 54.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 55.
- ^ Dhaubhadel 2021, p. 47.
- ^ Vaidya 2004, p. 158.
- ^ "Singha-The Mythical Creature". Youtube. 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Mythical Creatures of Nepal". OYE KTM. 2020.
- ^ "Bhaktapur's famed Nyatapola receives post-earthquake facelift". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-9937-0-8663-9.
- ^ Just returned from Bhaktapur, Nepal: Lesson learned the hardest way, ETN NEPAL, APR 29, 2015
- ^ Man, baby rescued from rubble in Nepal, CNN, Apr 29, 2015, Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports from Nepal, at 1:48
- ^ Nepal earthquake: Centuries of architectural heritage gone in 80 seconds, PTI, Mid-Day, 01-May-2015
- ^ Teo, Sheilin. "Nepal's traditional seismic resistant designs". Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ Research Note Work Index Of Nyatapola Temple, Contributions to Nepalese Studies, Vol. 32, NO.2 (July 2005), 267–275.
Bibliography
- Vaidya, Janaka Lāla (2004). Siddhāgni koṭyāhuti devala pratishṭhā: pān̐catale mandira/Nyātapolala Devalako nirmāṇa pratishṭhā kārya sambandhī abhilekha granthako anusandhānātmaka viśleshṇātmaka adhyayana (in Nepali). Nepāla Rājakīya Prajñā-Pratishṭhāna. ISBN 978-99933-50-99-6.
- Dhaubhadel, Om (2021). "Gaganachumbi sānskritika dharōhara ngātāpōlah". Ngātāpōlah jirnodvār (in Nepali). ISBN 9789937086639.
- Niels Gutschow and Bernhard Kolver (1975). Bhaktapur Ordered Space Concepts and Functions in A Town of Nepal by Niels Gutschow & Bernhard Kolver. Wiesbaden. ISBN 3515020772.