Patan city is one of my favourite cities in Kathmandu
valley. In today’s blog I am going to discuss about some key features of this
city. Patan is also known as Lalitpur, which means City of Beauty. The Newari
name of this city is “Yala” which
bears resemblance to the name of the first Kirati
King Yalamber.
Patan is said to have established during the Lichhavi Period and the Manga Hiti (water spout) which dates
back to 590 AD supports the fact. This hiti
has an effective water supply system, which led to the expansion and
development of the city. There are many other water spouts in the city dating
back to Lichhavi period, but most of
them has dried long ago. One of them is the Golden water spout, which lies at a
higher level than other water spouts and is in good condition till date. The
four corners of the city are marked by stupas, which dates back to 250 BC and
are said to have been erected by Emperor Ashoka.
The largest and most ornamented of these four stupa is on the Northern side, commonly
known as stupa of Sankhamul.
As we explore this city, we find many temples and
idols belonging to the Hindus and many more devoted to Buddhism. As we reach
any junction of the city first idol we see is the Ganesh (1st god to
be worshipped according to mythology) Temple. This temple is an integral part
of the Newari community be it Hindu or Buddhist. Also another interesting part about
this city is the courtyards. These courtyards are accessed through alleys in
the street and one courtyard opens up to another smaller courtyard belonging to
individual families termed as Nani.
Patan has many temples and idols; all built in
different centuries and carries their distinct architecture and charm. The
Patan Durbar Square is one of the exquisite beauties of the city. This square
was laid in the Lichhavi period but was developed during the reign of King Siddhinarsingha Malla. This rectangular
square has its longer axis running North- South with the palace in the eastern
sides of the square which is now used as a museum and diversely styled
continuous row of temples on the western side. Apart from the architecture in
the durbar square Patan has many other temples and Vihars around its precinct.
Vihars or monasteries are the Buddhist institution for
learning, back in the old days. The Bhaskar
Varna Mahavihar is the largest bahal in patan and was built in the Kirat
period, but most of the shrines date back to to Lichhavi period. Nagbahal
is another bahal just next to Bhaskar Varna Mahabihar and inherits a
stone water spout making it a unique Bahal. The Golden temple, Hiranya Varna mahabihar, built in the 12th
century has three storeyed golden pagodas, where the upper storey hosts the
golden image of Lord Buddha and a large prayer wheel. Maha Boudha, is popularly
known as the 1000 buddha Temple, built in Shikhara Style. This temple is
covered with terra cotta tiles, each tiles carved with the image of Lord
Buddha. The architecture of this temple is similar to the Mahaboudha temple at Boudhgaya in India where Buddha gained
enlightenment.
All of these vihars, temples, Hitis and the
traditional Newari buildings dating back to various centuries makes the city of
Patan a historical place and visiting a place as such, rolls one back to the
ancient culture and history.
Pic 1
Caption: Mahabuddha Temple, also known as "temple
of thousand buddhas"
Pic 2
Caption: Patan Durbar Square
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