Festivals of Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur is filled with Hindu and Buddhist religious sites and art. Although the population is primarily Hindu, there are nineteen Buddhist monasteries (Vihars). At Indra Varna Madavihar, built in 1671 and located between Durbar Square and Dattatraya Square, visitors can see two lion statues, a Patinga Hiti (water spout), Tantric wood-carved windows, and prayer wheels.



There are also many Buddhist monuments and shrines, including Lokeswor Mahavihar, Prasannasheel Mahavihar, Chatu Brahma Mahavihar, Jaya Kirti Mahavihar, Sukra-varna Mahavihar, Dipanker Mahavihar.



Many festivals are celebrated throughout the year to mark the seasons, pay tribute to gods, and remember historical and legendary events. A few of these are:

* Dashain, the longest festival of the year, lasting 15 days. This festival honors the goddess Devi Durga, who is said to have slain the demon Durga, son of Ruru. Celebrants perform many pujas (offerings) during this festival, including thousands of animal sacrifices. (September/October)

* Gai-Jatra, the Cow Festival. This festival focuses on families in bereavement. Every family who lost a relative in the past year participates in a procession with a cow or a young boy dressed as a cow. The cow, it is believed, helps the deceased reach heaven. (July/August)

* Bisket Jatra, the Nepalese New Year celebration, in which chariots are pulled through the streets and ultimately a tug of war over them determines who will be blessed with good fortune in the coming year. This celebration is also observed with picnics and other private get-togethers. (April)

* Tihar, the festival of lights, honors Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. The Nepalese light up their homes with candles, oil lamps, and other lights to invite the goddess Laxmi in.



They also worship crows, dogs, and cows during this festival and set aside one day to honor brothers. The Mha puja, a day of revering one's own body and life, is celebrated on one day of this festival.

History of Bhaktapur City

Founded in the 12th century by King Ananda Malla (according to various chronicles), Bhaktapur was the capital city of the Greater Malla Kingdom until the 15th century and was an independent kingdom from then until the 18th century. 

The last three Malla rulers of Bhaktapur were Jitamitra Malla, Bhupatindra Malla, and Ranjit Malla. These rulers played key roles in building the palaces and temples of Durbar Square.

In 1744, Prithvi Narayan Shah, descendent of Dravya Shah, who was the founder of the Gorkha dynasty, began a conquest march in the Kathmandu Valley, capturing and unifying Kathmandu,Patan, Bhaktapur, and the smaller towns of the Valley under one rule.



After a period of instability and a bloody coup in 1846, Jang Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji took control of Nepal. His Rana dynasty ruled Nepal until 1951, when the Congress Party formed a new government. In 1960, King Mahendra took control, banned political parties, and instituted land reforms. Political turmoil continued throughout the late 20th century.

In 1934, a major earthquake destroyed over 2,000 houses and severely damaged over 2,000 more homes. Over 1,000 people died in this quake. Restoration of many buildings was undertaken over the years, including efforts funded by West Germany in the late 1980's and by the U.S. in the 1990's.

More Information about Bhaktapur

Introduction to Bhaktapur:

Located about 20 km east of Kathmandu in the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur is known as the 'City of Devotees', the 'City of Culture', the 'Living Heritage', and 'Nepal's Cultural Gem'. It is one of the 3 royal cities in the Kathmandu Valley. The others are Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and Patan.

Bhaktapur is filled with monuments, most terra-cotta with carved wood columns, palaces and temples with elaborate carvings, gilded roofs, open courtyards. The city is dotted with pagodas and religious shrines.

Lying along the ancient trade route between India and Tibet, Bhaktapur is surrounded by mountains and provides a magnificent view of the Himalayas.

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Trivia & Quick Points:

• Also called Bhadgaon and Khwopa (in the native tongue). 
• Religions: Hindu 92%, Buddhist 7% 
• Castes: Newar 63%, Brahman 10%, Chettri 18%, Tamang 5% 
• Bhaktapur's population is approximately 225,000.
• Main agricultural production: paddy, wheat, corn, pulse, millet, citrus, guava, pears, junar, haluwabed, cauliflower, peas, beans, cucumber, and pumpkin. 
• Bhaktapur depends on tourism for about 60% of its revenues. 
• No cars are allowed in Durbar Square; no heavy vehicles in central Bhaktapur

A Wonder of Bhaktapur: The Nyatapola Temple (Five Storeyed Temple)

Bhaktapur city had been ruled by many kings of many dynasties in the ancient time. Among those rules, the rule of Malla kings has been taken as "The Golden Period of Bhaktapur". In this period of Mallas, Bhaktapur looked almost like heaven. That is so because of the rapid development in the field of art. Many statues, temples, gardens, palaces, ponds, etc. were constructed during the Malla rule. Different wonders were constructed during this time. Among those wonders, the Nyatapola Temple or the Five Storeyed Temple is also the one.

The word "Nyatapola" is derived from the two Newari words, i.e., "Nyata" and "pola". The word "Nyata" means five in Newari and the word "pola" means storeys. Thus, due to the structure of this temple this was called Nyatapola as it had five storeys. Nyatapola temple was constructed by a great lover of art, i.e., King Bhupatindra Malla in a place called Taumadhi. He constructed this temple for showing his respect and love over the Nepali art. This temple is constructed in the traditional Pagoda style of architecture. It has five storeys which makes it huge and enormous. And the big stairs in this temple make it even larger than other temples in Bhaktapur. In those stairs there are different statues of animals and people. It is said that these statues protect the temple and the statues of gods. These all are the external structure of this temple. But about its internal structure only some of the people have knowledge as the doors of this temple are not often opened. Most of the people say that there is a huge pond inside this temple. Some people also say that inside this temple there is a cave which leads to another famous place of Bhaktapur, i.e., Suryavinayak, where a big forest with a temple of Lord Ganesh is located. This may be true or may not be. This is a mystery. 

At last, this is a photograph of the Nyatapola temple (Five storeyed Temple) which can give you a view of the beauty of this temple...............

The Durbar Area Of Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur city has different cultural heritages. Some of them have also been listed under UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE which are making Nepal and Nepalese famous all over the world. One of the heritages which has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage is The Bhaktapur Durbar Area.

Bhaktapur Durbar Area is such a place where you can get the satisfaction of travelling that you need in your life everytime. This place has such a magic that it may make a frustrated and unhappy person satisfied and happy. This place gives a person joy and can take out his/her sorrow and depression away from his/her heart and mind. Truly, this place is amazing and incredible full of beauty and happiness.

Bhaktapur Durbar Area consists of different aspects or factors which makes this place full of beauty. First of all, the main attraction of this place, i.e., the Fifty-Five Windowed Palace makes this place a part of paradise or heaven. This palace contains exactly Fifty-Five windows. These windows are made in traditional style of making windows of Nepal. Some of them are traditional Peacock Windows a.k.a.  AANKHIJHYANL in Nepali language. The windows are full of Nepali art of carving in wood. The building is also made up of  sharp edged bricks a.k.a. daachi appa  in Newari Language. Similarly, the another attraction of this area is the Golden Gate which is a true model of Nepalese metal carving and metal works. This gate also consists of  of statues of gods and goddesses of Hindu people. This gate is coloured with golden colour so it is called Golden Gate. Similarly the Shikhar styled Krishna Temple is another attraction of this place. This temple is constructed on the basis of the Krishna Temple of Lalitpur. Similarly the Taleju Temple is the strict temple of this place. Here, only Hindus are allowed to go in. Likewise, the  Kaashi Jaggannath Temple and other temples are also the attractions of this  place. It is told that most of the things of this place were constructed by Malla King Bhupatindra Malla, so he  himself made his statue on the top of a tall pillar to make the people memorize him and his love and respect towards art.

Thus, Bhaktapur Durbar Area is a complete package of art and beauty. This place can be taken as a piece of the Heaven or Paradise. Here are some photographs of Bhaktapur Durbar Area...................

Introduction to Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur is a small district of Nepal. It is one of the smallest districts among the 75 districts that are in Nepal. The word "BHAKTAPUR" is derived from two Nepali words, i.e., "Bhakta" and "pur". Here  the word "Bhakta" means devotees of Gods and the word "pur" means place or area.

In this district Bhaktapur the people have their own culture and traditions. They have their own type of festivals and jatras. So, in order to keep those culture, traditions, festivals and jatras alive, many cultural heritages such as temples, Pukhus  or Pokharis (PONDS), etc. have been constructed  since the old times or during the Malla and other rules that ruled for a long time in Bhaktapur. Due to the construction of many cultural heritages, the number of Bhaktas or devotees increased rapidly. Due to the more number of bhaktas or followers in this place, this place was called as Bhaktapur. In Bhaktapur, there are many temples which are famous not only in Nepal, but also the whole world. Some of them are even listed under UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE, a great for promoting  the cultural heritages and natural heritages of different countries all over the world.



Thus, Bhaktapur is a great and popular place. No one can stay without coming to Nepal and  it's famous city Bhaktapur once in their lives. Here is a combined picture of the wonders of Bhaktapur.............