Changu Narayan is the temple of Vishnu, the Preserver, in
the village of Changu in Bhaktapur. The origins of Changu
Narayan goes back to the fourth century. A fifth century stone
inscription in the temple proclaims it as one of the oldest
shrines of the Kathmandu Valley. The temple is believed to
be sixteen hundred years old. It is embellished by the best
examples of stone, wood, and metal craft.
On the struts of the two-tiered Changu Narayan Temple, are
the ten incarnations of Narayan. A sixth-century stone statue
shows the cosmic form of Vishnu. Garuda, half man and half
bird, is the steed of Vishnu, and his life-sized statue kneels
before the temple.
Some important sculptures of Vishnu seen here are:
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Vishwaroop: The sculpture represents Vishnu in his most universal
form. It dates back to 8th century A.D. |
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Vishnu Vikranta - This stone image, dating back to the 8th
century A.D., is one of the most poerful form of Vishnu. This
is when he measured space with his feet. |
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Vishnu riding Garuda (the mythical bird) - this figure of
Vishnu mounting Garuda dates back to the 10th century A.D. |
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Nar-Singha Vishnu - this form of Vishnu is seen in his half
man and half lion form. |
The stone inscription (dated 464 A.D.) placed in front of
the Changu Narayan temple describes in detail the story of
Dharmadeva a King of Nepal who died suddenly, with his young
son succeeding him to the throne. The son later after a series
of victories in war inscribed his victory on a stone pillar
and placed it in front of the Changu Narayan temple. It is
written in poetry and in an academic Sanskrit which is something
like an encyclopedia of the then society, tradition and culture.
It starts with an invocation to the Vishnu of Doladri proving
that Changu Narayan or the Doladri Narayan is much older than
the date on the in- scription of 464 A.D.
Situated on a beautiful hill the square two storeyed temple
stands in the centre of a brickpaved courtyard, with the main
structure raised on a three tier diminishing plinth, with
doors on all four sides, although the western door is the
main en- trance to the sanctum. The doors have pairs of carvings
of animals such as li- ons, horses, griffins and elephants,
with the main western door richly carved in brass, with a
brass tympanum above the door. (one of the most beautiful
pieces of brass work of medieval Nepal).
The roof is supported by 24 struts or brackets, which serve
as decoration and to support the temple roof. They are beautifully
carved and hung at a 45 de- gree angle. They represent the
ten major incarnations of Vishnu and his various manifestations.
Though a Vishnu temple the struts also depict Manjushree and
Buddha. To the south some of the struts have as many as twenty
arms, and carrying various attributions they represent the
whole Hindu philosophy. The Buddhist community from the Kathmandu
Valley also pay tribute to Changu Narayan as the Haribahana
Lokeswar and Kileswar Shiva as Samantabhadra Lokeswar.
Situated on a beautiful hill the square two storeyed temple
stands in the centre of a brickpaved courtyard, with the main
structure raised on a three tier diminish- ing plinth, with
doors on all four sides, although the western door is the
main en- trance to the sanctum. The doors have pairs of carvings
of animals such as li- ons, horses, griffins and elephants,
with the main western door richly carved in brass, with a
brass tympanum above the door. (one of the most beautiful
pieces of brass work of medieval Nepal).
The courtyard has many other temples such as that of Kileswar
Shiva, Chinnamasta Devi and other figures like that of Garuda
from the 5th century; Vishnu mounted on Garuda from the 7th/
8th centuries; Vishnu surrounded by Laxmi and Garuda from
the 10th/11th centuries; and the cosmic universal form of
Vishnu shown to Arjuna in the great battle of Mahabharata;
plus other multiheaded and multiarmed Vishnu.
From the temple one can see the beautiful Manohara river
flowing like a serpent through green fields, and to the north
on a clear day one can see many Himalayan peaks. A whole day
is needed to study and enjoy Changu Narayan, just 15 kilometers
from Kathmandu city
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