The Pashupatinath Temple (Nepali: ), a well-known and revered Hindu temple complex, is situated in the eastern portion of Kathmandu Valley, the nation’s capital, around 5 kilometers north-east of Kathmandu. Lord Pashupatinath, Nepal’s patron deity, is housed at the temple. In 1979, this temple complex was included to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of the seven monument groups in the Kathmandu Valley’s designation by UNESCO as a cultural heritage site includes this “extensive Hindu temple precinct,” which is described as a “sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river.”Maha Shivaratri is one of the temple’s greatest festivals, and on that day, nearly a million worshippers come to worship.

One of the 275 Tamil Paadal Petra Sthalams (Holy Abodes of Shiva) on the continent, the temple is dedicated to Shiva. This Shivalinga is described in the Shiva Purana’s Kotirudra Samhita Chapter 11 on the Shivalingas of the North as the granter of all wishes.

Lichchavi King Prachanda Dev rebuilt the temple in the fifth century after termites destroyed the earlier structure. This two-story temple has been surrounded by a great number of other temples over time. Two examples include the Guhyeshwari Temple recorded in an 11th-century book and the Vaishnava temple complex with a Rama temple from the 14th century.

The genesis story of the temple is legend

The oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu is Pashupatinath Temple. The exact date of construction of the Pashupatinath Temple is unknown. However, the god here earned enormous reputation there as Pashupati, the Lord of all Pashus, which are both living and non-living things, according to Nepal Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda. The Pashupatinath Temple has existed from 400 B.C. The holy linga, or representation of Lord Shiva, is housed in the lavishly decorated pagoda. There are several myths that explain how the Lord Aalok Pashupatinath temple got to be located here. Below is a narrative of a few of them.

The Cow Myth

According to legend, Lord Shiva and Parvati once assumed the shape of an antelope and engaged in an unidentified activity in the forest on the east bank of the Bagmati river. Later, the gods caught up with him and compelled him to return to his divine form by catching him by one of his horns. Before it was buried and lost through time, the shattered horn was worshiped as a Sivalinga. Astonished herdsmen discovered one of his cows drenching the soil in milk centuries later. He dug deep into the location and came upon Pashupatinath’s heavenly linga.

The Legend of Lichchhavi

This temple was constructed by Prachanda Deva, a Lichchhavi King, according to Gopalraj Aalok Vamsavali, the earliest chronicle ever written in Nepal. This monarch was 39 generations before to Manadeva, according to a stone inscription carved by Jayadeva 11 in the courtyard of Pashupatinath in 753 AD (464-505 AD).

The Legend of Devalaya

According to another history, the Pashupatinath Temple was once a Linga-shaped Devalaya before Supuspa Deva built a five-story Pashupatinath temple there. The temple needed to be repaired and updated as time went on. It is known that a medieval King by the name of Shivadeva rebuilt this temple (1099-1126 AD). Ananta Malla restored it and gave it a roof. This temple, also known as “The Temple of Living Beings,” is visited by thousands of pilgrims from around the globe.