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Pashupatinath
Pashupatinath Temple is a biggest Hindu temple of Lord
Shiva located on the banks of the Bagmati river in the eastern part of
Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The
temple served as the seat of national deity, Lord Pashupatinath, until
Nepal was secularized. Believers in
Pashupatinath (mainly Hindus)
are allowed to enter the temple premises. Non-Hindu visitors are
allowed to have a look at the temple from the other bank of Bagmati
river. It is regarded as the most sacred among the temples of Lord
Shiva (Pashupati) Pashupatinath is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. According to Nepal Mahatmaya and Himvatkhanda, one day Lord Shiva grew tired of his palace atop Mt. Kailash and so went in search of a place where he could escape to. He discovered Kathmandu Valley and, without telling anyone, he ran away from his palace and came to live in the Valley. He gained great fame there as Pashupati, Lord of the Animals, before the other gods discovered his hiding place and came to fetch him. He disguised himself as a majestic deer and would not help the other gods when they asked for his help. When Shiva did not yield to their pleas, they planned to use force. God Vishnu grabbed him by his horns and they shattered into pieces. Vishnu established a temple and used the broken horns to form a linga on the bank of the Bagmati River. As time went by, the temple was buried and forgotten. Then a cow was known to have secretly sprinkled her milk over the mound. Apparently, when the cow herders dug around the spot, they found the lost lingas and again built a temple in reverence. <>The priests who perform the services at this temple have been Brahmins from South India since the time of Malla king Yaksha Malla. This tradition is supposed to have started by the request of Adi Shankaracharya who sought to unify the different states of Bharatam (Unified India) by encouraging cultural exchange. This procedure is also followed in other temples around India which were sanctified by Adi Shankaracharya. Another interpretation is that Indian priests are stationed at Pashupatinath because when the King passes away, the entire Nepali people are supposed to stop religious services and enter a year long period of mourning and as Pashupatinath needs to be eternally worshiped, Indians were brought in to make sure that Pashupatinath is worshiped even at the time of official mourning. The unique feature of this temple is that only 4 priests can touch the idol. The priests are always from south India. This tradition is supposed to have started by Sage Shankaracharya in the 6th century, ostensibly to stop human sacrifice which was prevalent in that temple. The temple is of pagoda architecture. The two level roofs are of copper with gold covering. It has four main doors, all covered with silver sheets. The western door has a statue of large bull or Nandi, again covered in gold. The deity is of black stone, about 6 feet in height and the same in circumference. Vasukinath lies to the east of Pashupatinath. Source = Wikipedia
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