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Kathmandu Photo Gallery - Kathmandu Durbar Square

Basantpur Square Market, Kumari Bahal, Trailokya Mohan Narayan, Maju Deval, Narayan Temple, Hindu Sadhu, Garuda Statue, Bimaleshwor Temple, Kasthamandap Temple, Kabrindrapur Temple, Maru Tole Market, Shiva-Parvati Temple, Kala Bhairav Statue, Jagannath Temple, King Malla Column, Hanuman Statue, Kakeshwar Temple, Taleju Temple, Sundari Chowk, Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 01 01 Basantpur Square Market Just Outside Durbar Square Basantapur Square is a large open plaza at the south-eastern entrance to Kathmandu Durbar Square, where souvenir sellers set up their stalls in long lines to await the tourists. The white columned building on the right is the Gaddi Baithak, part of the Royal Palace complex built in the 1908 after King Jung Bahadur Rana returned from a trip to England, where he developed a taste for western neo-classical architecture. The main part of Durbar Square is straight ahead.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 01 01 Basantpur Square Market Just Outside Durbar Square

Kathmandu Durbar Square 01 02 Kumari Kumari Bahal, Kumari Courtyard, Kumari Kumari Bahal is a red brick, three-storey building with some incredible intricately carved windows at the southeast end of Durbar Square in Kathmandu It was built in 1757 and is home to the Kumari, the young girl who is selected to be Kathmandu’s living goddess until she reaches puberty and reverts to being a normal mortal. The Kumari Chowk is the three-storey courtyard, enclosed by carved wooden balconies and windows. The courtyard contains a miniature stupa carrying the symbols of Saraswati, the goddess of learning.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 01 02 Kumari Kumari Bahal, Kumari Courtyard, Kumari

Kathmandu Durbar Square 01 03 Trailokya Mohan Narayan, Maju Deval and Narayan Temples Kathmandu Durbar Square is a complex of beautiful Hindu temples and shrines built in the 16th and 17th centuries in pagoda style embellished with intricately carved exteriors. Trailokya Mohan Narayan, Maju Deval and Narayan Temples shine in the early morning sun. Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple (1680) stands on a five-stage plinth with three roofs and is dedicated to Vishnu.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 01 03 Trailokya Mohan Narayan, Maju Deval and Narayan Temples

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 01 Charlotte Ryan And Peter Ryan With two Hindu Sadhus 2

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 01 Charlotte Ryan And Peter Ryan With two Hindu Sadhus 2

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 02 Hindu Sadhu Close Up 2

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 02 Hindu Sadhu Close Up 2

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 03 Jerome Ryan With Same Sadhu

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 03 Jerome Ryan With Same Sadhu

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 04 Jerome Ryan With Two Hindu Sadhus

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 04 Jerome Ryan With Two Hindu Sadhus

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 05 Hindu Sadhu Yoga

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 05 Hindu Sadhu Yoga

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 06 Hindu Sadhu Yoga

Kathmandu Durbar Square 02 06 Hindu Sadhu Yoga

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 01 Garuda Statue Garuda kneels with his hands in the namaste position in Kathmandu Durbar Square.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 01 Garuda Statue

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 02 Garuda Statue Close Up A garland adorns the head of Garuda in Kathmandu Durbar Square.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 02 Garuda Statue Close Up

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 03 Garuda Statue And Maju Deval Narayan Temple Garuda kneels with his hands in the namaste position in Kathmandu Durbar Square with the nine-step Maju Deval Narayan Temple to the north.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 03 Garuda Statue And Maju Deval Narayan Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 04 Garuda Statue In Front of Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple, Bimaleshwor Temple Garuda kneels with his hands in the namaste position in front of Trailokya Mohan Narayan temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square. The very small Bimaleshwor Temple is to the right. The figure of Garuda was placed here in 1690 by Riddhi Lakshmi, widow of King Bhupalendra.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 04 Garuda Statue In Front of Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple, Bimaleshwor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 05 Kumari Bahal, Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple, Garuda Statue, Bimaleshwor Temple The edge of Basantapur Square, Kumari Bahal, Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple, the Garuda Statue, and Bimaleshwor Temple are visible from the steps of Maju Deval Temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 03 05 Kumari Bahal, Trailokya Mohan Narayan Temple, Garuda Statue, Bimaleshwor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 01 Kasthamandap Temple Kathmandu gets its name from the three-story Kasthamandap Temple at the southwestern end of Kathmandu Durbar Square. Kasthamandap is said to be Kathmandu’s oldest building, built by King Laxmi Narsingha Malla at the beginning of the 12C from the wood of a single tree. However, most of what is now seen is from renovations after 1630.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 01 Kasthamandap Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 02 Kabindrapur Temple Across from Kasthamandap is the Kabindrapur Temple or Dhansa Dega, an ornate 17C performance pavilion which houses the god of music.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 02 Kabindrapur Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 03 Maru Tole Market Vendors sell fruit, vegetables, and flowers in Maru Tole at the southwestern corner of the Kathmandu Durbar Square.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 03 Maru Tole Market

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 04 Maru Tole Market Other vendors sell spices in Maru Tole at the southwestern corner of the Kathmandu Durbar Square.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 04 Maru Tole Market

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 05 Colourful Dyes A lone vendor sells colourful dyes in Kathmandu Durbar Square.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 04 05 Colourful Dyes

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 01 Maju Deval, Narayan and Shiva-Parvati Temples Maju Deval, Narayan and Shiva-Parvati Temples cluster together in Kathmandu’s Durbar Square. Dedicated to Shiva, the large three-storied Maju Deval (1690) on a nine-step brick base seems to dominate Durbar Square. From here you can watch the constant activity of fruit and vegetable hawkers, the comings and goings of taxis and rickshaws, and the flute and other souvenir sellers.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 01 Maju Deval, Narayan and Shiva-Parvati Temples

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 02 Shiva-Parvati Temple The long low building on the northern side of main part of Kathmandu Durbar Square contains a shrine to Shiva and Parvati, who can be seen gazing down from an upper window, posing like a normal couple. The lower part of this late 1700s building is embellished for almost its whole length with a five-bayed carved wooden screen.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 02 Shiva-Parvati Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 03 Shiva and Parvati Look Out From Window Of Shiva-Parvati Temple Shiva and Parvati observe life on Kathmandu Durbar Square from their window in the Shiva-Parvati temple.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 03 Shiva and Parvati Look Out From Window Of Shiva-Parvati Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 04 Kala Bhairav Statue Hindu pilgrims touch the huge stone statue of Kala (black) Bhairav, Shiva's 6-armed destructive form, in Kathmandu Durbar Square. Atop his wide-eyed face is a crown decorated with human skulls, and on his back is a human skin. Kala Bhairav stands on a prostrate figure that represents human ignorance.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 05 04 Kala Bhairav Statue

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 01 Jagannath Temple and King Malla Column Running northeast is a second part of Kathmandu Durbar Square, which contains the entrance to the Hanuman Dhoka and an assortment of temples. Pigeons fly around the three-tiered, two-storied Jagannath Temple, built in the 16C. Exquisite wood-carvings embellish the doors, windows and roof struts, depicting Hindu gods. Erected in 1670, King Pratapa Malla's column stands to the left of Jagannath temple. The king sits on a lion throne atop the lotus-shaped capital, his two wives one on either side. The King's five sons also appear, one at each corner and the fifth, the youngest son, in front. On the right is the Hanuman statue at the entrance to the Hanuman Dhoka palace.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 01 Jagannath Temple and King Malla Column

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 02 Hanuman Statue The Hanuman (1672) statue stands at the entrance to the Hanuman Dhoka palace in Kathmandu Durbar Square. The Hindu god Hanuman is depicted as a monkey, and sits on a tall stone pedestal, cloaked in red and sheltered by an umbrella. Standards bearing the double-triangle flag of Nepal flank the statue. I watched the devout Hindus circle the statue, touching their foreheads on the Hanuman pedestal.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 02 Hanuman Statue

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 03 Hanuman Statue And Entrance Gate Stone lions flank the sides of the Hanuman Dhoka gate in Kathmandu’s Durbar Square, one ridden by Shiva, the other by his wife Parvati. Above the gate a brightly painted niche is illustrated with a central figure of a ferocious Tantric version of Krishna. On the left side is the gentler Hindu Krishna in his traditional blue colour accompanied by two of his comely milkmaids. On the right side are King Pratap Malla and his queen.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 03 Hanuman Statue And Entrance Gate

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 04 Kakeshwar Temple, Taleju Temple and Sundari Chowk Kakeshwar Temple, Taleju Temple, and Sundari Chowk are situated to the north of Hanuman Dhoka palace in Kathmandu Durbar Square. The Kakeshwar Temple was originally built in 1681 but was rebuilt after it was badly damaged in the 1934 earthquake. It is a strange combination of styles, starting with a Newari style floor, above which is an Indian shikhara -style upper storey, topped by a spire shaped like a water vase. The huge 35m high three-roofed Taleju Temple (1564) in Kathmandu Durbar Square was the first temple erected with more than two roofs and the first to be raised on a tall stepped platform.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 04 Kakeshwar Temple, Taleju Temple and Sundari Chowk

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 05 Taleju Temple Motorcycles line the street at the north entrance to Kathmandu Durbar Square, with Taleju Temple visible the square.

Kathmandu Durbar Square 06 05 Taleju Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 01 Entrance Gate To Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 01 Entrance Gate To Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 02 Shiva And Nandi Close Up On Top Of Entrance Gate To Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 02 Shiva And Nandi Close Up On Top Of Entrance Gate To Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 03 Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 03 Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 04 Statue Inside Mahendreswor Temple

Kathmandu Durbar Square 07 04 Statue Inside Mahendreswor Temple


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