Golden Temple all set to glitter again -- The Buddha’s idol at the temple was built centuries ago by a 12-year-old as a gift to his mother

ANKIT ADHIKARI & PRAGATI SHAHI
KATHMANDU, SEP 07

Once you get into Patan, also nicknamed the ‘City of Beauty’, artifacts intricately entwined with the life and livelihood of the people here are an obvious sight.

Endowed with culturally and historically world-famous sites including the Patan Durbar Square, the city has everything on offer for those who have taste for an exotic environment. The famous Golden Temple, also known as Hiranya Varna Mahavihar, built by King Bhaskar Dev Verma 200 meters north of the Durbar on the way to Kumbheshwor, adds to the grandeur of the city.

The temple is a three-tier Buddhist monastery adorned with a golden facade, four large gateways, a clock tower and two lion sculptures. The golden images of the Buddha, wall carvings and a prayer wheel inside the temple are famous among both Mahayana and Vajrayana sects of Buddhists, referring to the Shakya and Bajracharya families, respectively, in the Newari system. Famous among Newar Buddhists, the temple equally bears the blend of Hinduism. As legends have it, the idol of Buddha at the temple was built centuries ago by a 12-year-old as a gift to his mother. The beauty of the idol was such that a monk from Tibet could not keep himself from stealing it. As the mother was deeply hurt by this incident, the child made an identical idol, only to be stolen by the gods of heaven, leading to the making of a third idol.

After many years, when the idol was excavated, it is believed the mother’s gift was buried. Queen Pingala of Patan supposedly assisted the excavation and building of the Golden Temple.

The person appointed the main priest in the temple must be below 12. According to the priest, also known as bapacha, the idol of Shakyamuni Buddha worships the major Buddha which is originally located at Swoyambhu. Therefore, an identical Swoyambhunath has been built in front of the idol. Every month, a new priest is appointed. “This is third time I have become the priest of the temple,” said 12-year-old Ujjwal Bajracharya. “I have enjoyed and felt spiritual solace each time I have been here.”

As the local community has started renovating the temple, the historical monument gradually losing beauty a few years earlier could be resurrected. The renovation can also impress a lot of tourists especially at a time when the tourism year is approaching.

Laxmi Bahadur Shakya, coordinator of the Hirnaya Varna Mahavihar Renovation Committee, said the maintenance began in Jan. 2009 with the help of Lalitpur Sub-metropolis Office and was expected to be completed in 2011.

Shakya said the earthquake of 1934 caused an inclination of the temple while the wooden blocks supporting the structure are partially decayed and need replacement. The repair work is said to be taking place after a century. “When we first asked the Department of Archaeology for permission to repair the temple, it was unheeded,” said Shakya. “We are now forced to limit our efforts to replacement of the decayed materials.”

Published in The Kathmandu Post -- September 8