Introduction
Nepal is a country with great historical importance. The Newars used to live in the Nepalese valley since a long time and thus they developed the culture of Hindus and Buddhists. This country holds great importance for the Buddhists worldwide. There are many Buddhist pilgrimage sites, temples, pagodas and shrines. Historical monuments give a glimpse of Buddhism in some way or the other. Ten historical sites which are there in Nepal have been graded as the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. This shows how important Nepal is in terms of history. Changu Narayan, Patan Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Chitwan and Sagarmatha are some of the historical marvels of Nepal.
There are many religion, language, customs, tradition, norms and values, dress, etc. These people celebrate different festivals and worship different Gods and Goddesses. As many people are Hindu there are many temples in our country. In Kathmandu also there are many temples, so it is known as the ‘city of temples’. There are many famous temples which are enlisted in World Heritage Site by UNESCO like Pashupati Nath Temple, Changu Narayan Temple, Swambhunath Stupa, Bouddha Nath Stupa etc.
My report deals with the Changu Narayan Temple which is one of the Temple listed in World Heritage Site. This ancient temple of Changu Narayan is located on a high hilltop that is also known as Changu. The temple is surrounded by forest with champak tree and a small village, known as Changu Village. The temple is located in Changu VDC of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. This hill is about 22 kilometer east of Kathmandu and 8 kilometer north of Bhaktapur. The Manahara River flows beside the hill. This shrine is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and held in especial reverence by the Hindu people. This temple is considered as the oldest temple in Nepal. It is believed that this temple was built in 4th century. The temple is adorned by some of the best specimen of stone, wood, and metal craft in the valley. The temple stands as the epitome of culture, religion, history and faith of the Kathmandu valley.
The main physical aspects of this place are:
- Historical pillar
- Garuda
- Statue of Bhupalendra Malla
- Chanda Narayan
- Sridhar Vishnu
- Vaikuntha Vishnu
- Chhinnamasta
- Vishworup
- Vishnu Vikrant
- Narasimha
- Kileshwor
Every project has its own objective to explore facts and figure. So, the major objective of my visit was:
- To find out the historical and cultural background of the area
- To know about the present condition of the area
- To identify the importance and the problems of the area
Methodology
In order to collect the necessary data, I applied the following methods:
- Primary Method: I visited the site carefully and observed the various elements such as inscriptions, temples etc. and studied the religious, cultural, social, archaeological and geographical aspects of the area. Besides, I also visited the Changu Museum, and the explanation of the coordinator of that museum helped me a lot too.
- Secondary Method: I read news-articles, books, articles, and search internet in order to collect all the necessary information and data.
Findings
The ancient temple of Changu Narayan is located on a high hilltop that is also known as Changu or Dolagiri. The temple is surrounded by forest with champak tree and a small village, known as Changu Village. The temple is located in Changu VDC of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. This hill is about 8 miles east of Kathmandu and a few miles north of Bhaktapur. The Manahara River flows beside the hill. This shrine is dedicated to Lord Visnu and held in especial reverence by the Hindu people. This temple is considered as the oldest temple in Nepal.
The pagoda style temple has several masterpieces of 5th and 12th century Nepalese art. According to legends Changu Narayan temple existed as early as 325 A.D. in the time of Licchavi King Hari Datta Verma and it is one of Nepal’s richest structures historically as well as artistically. In the grounds there is a stone pillar inscription of great importance recording the military exploits of King Man Deva who reigned from 496 A.D. to 524 A.D.
The first epigraphic evidence of Nepalese history found in the temple premises during the reign of the Licchavi King Mandeva dating back to 464 A.D. shows that Changu had already been established as a sacred site in the 3rd century A.D. It is the earliest inscription known in Nepal. The temple was restored during the lifetime of Ganga Rani, consort of Siva Simha Malla who reigned from 1585 to 1614. There are records of the temple burning in the year of 822 Nepal Samvat (1702 A.D.), after which reconstruction was carried out.
More inscriptions in gilt-copper plates were added by Bhaskara Malla in 1708 A.D. Legend about Changu Narayan. In ancient time a Gwala, a cow herder, had brought a cow from a Brahman named Sudashan. The cow was known for producing large quantity of milk. The Gwala used to take the cow to Changu for grazing. At that time Changu was a forest of Champak tree. While grazing the cow it always goes to the shade of a particular tree.
In the evening when the Gwala took the cow home and started milking the cow he got only very few amount of milk. This continued several days. He became very sad so he called the Brahmin and told him that the cow is not giving enough milk. Brahmin after observing the fact from his own eyes then planned with the Gwala to inspect the activities of cow during the day while she was grazing in the forest. Both Brahmin and Gwala hide themselves behind the trees and speculate the activities of cow.
The cow went into the shade of a particular champak tree. To their surprise a small black boy came out from the tree and started liking the cow milk. Both became very furious and they thought that the boy must be the devil and tree must be its home. So Brahmin cut down the champak tree. When the Brahmin was cutting down the tree a fresh human blood came out from the tree. Both Brahmin and Gwala became worried and they thought that they have committed the great crime and they started crying. From the tree lord Vishnu emerged out and he told the Brahmin that it was not their fault.
Lord Vishnu told them the story that he had committed a heinous crime by killing Shudarshan’s father unknowingly while hunting in the forest. After that he was cursed for the crime. He then wandered on earth on his mouth, the ‘Garuda’ eventually descending on the hill at Changu. There he lived in anonymity, surviving on milk stolen from a cow. When Brahmin cut down the tree, lord Vishnu was beheaded which freed Lord Vishnu from his sins.
After hearing these words from Vishnu, Brahmin and Gwala started worshiping the place and they established a small time in the name of Lord Vishnu. Ever since that day, the site has been held sacred. Even today we can find the descendant of Sudarshan Brahimin as priest of the temple and the descendents of Gwala as ghutiyars (conservators).
Changu Narayan Temple is situated at the top of the hill surrounded by forest of Champak tree. On the main way to temple courtyard, we can find human settlement. People from Newar community live in and around Changu Narayan area. With the development in tourism in this place, we can find many medium and small sized hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. An ancient stone tap is located on the way to changunaran which is believed to have existed since the time of Lichhavi.
About Temple art and architectures: Changu Narayan is considered as the oldest temple of Nepal. It remains a milestone in Nepali temple architecture with rich embossed works. The two storied roof temple is standing in a high plinth of stone. The temple is all surrounded by sculptures and arts related to Lord Vishnu. Also we can find the temple of lord Shiva, Ashta Matrika, Chhinnamasta, Kileshwor and Krishna inside the courtyard of main temple. There are for entrances to the temple and these four entrance gates are guarded by life size pairs of animals such as lions, sarabhas, graffins and elephants on each side of the entrances.
The ten incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the other idols are carved in the struts, which support the roof. The entrance door looks like gold plated with carving of Nagas (snakes). On the main entrance gate (i.e. western entrance gate), we can find the Chakra, Sankha, Kamal and Khadga all at the top of a stone pillar. These stone pillars has inscription in Sanskrit. This inscription is considered to be the oldest inscription of Nepal and the stone inscription pillar was erected by Lichhavi King Manadeva in 464 AD.
A private museum is also located on in the Changu Narayan on the way to temple. It is said to be the first private museum of Nepal and it has the collection of ancient coins, tools, arts and architectures. There is an excellent collection of ancient, historical, artistic, religious, archaeological, cultural and other rare objects. The museum has a good collection of ancient tools used by Newar family during the medieval period. It was established o the occasion of millennium year 2000 AD with the permission of Changu Narayan VDC. The entrance fee for Nepalese is NRs. 30 and NRs. 60 is charged for foreigner. Mostly foreigners and Nepali students visit this museum.
Conclusion
Changu Narayan Area is very important in archaeological, religious, cultural and historical aspects. This Temple was the administrative centre of King Mandev Malla, the first historical king of Nepal. The main temple of Changu Narayan temple was an early temple of Nepal in pagoda style.
The inscriptions available in the walls, roofs, pillars are very valuable source of information about Nepalese history. It is venue for many religious and cultural celebrations like jatras, melas, etc. Since the ancient period, many festivals and fairs have been organized on various occasions. The main features which make this temple valuable are: It is the oldest temple in Kathmandu valley.
A Vishnu idol with ten heads and ten arms is a fine example of stone carving from the 5th century. The temple is of great importance due to its idols and shrines having rich architectural beauty. This place is very important place to learn about Nepalese history and about ancient things. This place tells about different types of inscriptions on wood, metal etc. There are many idols, statue, sculpture etc. which are very old.
The present condition of this place is bad. Though this place is listed in World Heritage Site, the local people aren’t aware of conservation and development of this place. There is lack of proper facility of infrastructures of transportation. This is not proper roadway to this place. Likewise the problem of drinking water also exists around this place. Similarly there isn’t proper facility of communication as well. The whole area is polluted through different types of pollution. It is losing its identities by different damage. There is very dangerous risk of landslide around this place. There is lack of publicity about this place. It’s very difficult to collect detail information around this place.
Recommendation
- There is lack of publicity campaign so authorized body should publicize for the betterment of this place.
- Environmental sanitation programs should be conducted to protect this place from different types of pollution.
- Security provision should be made strict and strong to protect this heritage from different types of anti-social activities.
- Timely renovation of this place should be done for the damaged structure of this site.
- Different information centers should be built near this site so that many people could get vast amount of information of this place.
- Awareness among the local people should be raised in order to get their participation in the conservation and development of this place.
- The infrastructures of transportation, drinking water, as well as communication facilities should be extended to make this place developed.
- The land should be protected from the possible dangers of erosion through embankment and afforestation.
- Different Information Centers should be established around this place so that students like us can collect the more informatio.
