Nepal: Kirtipur, Nov 2024

By Beatrice Wong
February 26, 2025
8:00 pm
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On a ridge overlooking Kathmandu is the small ancient Newar town, Kirtipur, with typical red-brick houses and temple squares. “Kirti” means glory and “pur” means city in sanskrit. Kirtipur is most famous for the Indrayani Jatra festival held every year. Legend has it that a demon once resided in Kirtipur and a member of each household must be sacrificed to appease the demon. One day, the goddess Indrayani, in the form of a prince, arrived at the village and upon learning of the sacrifice, offered to go himself. He defeated and killed the demon and the festival is a celebration of that victory. Kirtipur is one of the oldest cities in Nepal dating back to 1099 when it was still part of Patan or Lalitpur. The two main temples here are the Bagh Bhairab Temple and the Chilancho Stupa.

View of Kathmandu from Kirtipur

Chilancho Stupa is probably the oldest monument in Kirtipur, believed to be made during the medieval period. The stupa sits on a stepped platform surrounded by 4 smaller stupas. At the top is a square harmika with four sets of eyes topped by a beehive-shaped crown of 13 concentric rings representing the various Buddhist heavens. In the 4 smaller stupas are statues of Dhyani Buddha each facing 4 Tara Devis on the corners of the lower level of the central stupa.

Chilancho Stupa

Chilancho Stupa

Chilancho Stupa

Kirtipur

Kirtipur

De Pukhu, Kirtipur

Kirtipur

Bagh Bhairab Temple is one of the oldest and most well known temples of Kirtipur, believed to be built some time in the 16th century. It is the only temple in the Kathmandu Valley dedicated to the “Tiger” form of Bhairav which is considered as the fiercest form of Lord Shiva. Like all Bhairav temples, it is rectangular with a 3-tiered pagoda and surrounded by smaller shrines and stone idols some dating from the 3rd or 4th century. The statue is made of clay with a large silver mask and is remade every 15-25 years. Legend has it that some shepherds fashioned a tiger image out of clay and set off in search of a poinsettia leaf to use as its tongue. However, upon their return, they discovered that all their sheep went missing and the mouth of their tiger statue was filled with blood. They believed that Bhairab had taken refuge in the statue and it was moved to the present temple but as punishment for eating their sheep, the shepherds refused to add the tongue to the image. The statue, until today, is said to have a wide open mouth without a tongue. As Bhairab is worshipped as the guardian of the Newars, many weapons such as knives and swords are nailed to the wall of the temple.

Bagh Bhairab Temple

Bagh Bhairab Temple

Bagh Bhairab Temple

Built in 1655, the 3-tiered pagoda-style Uma Maheshwar Temple in Kirtipur is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati and commands beautiful views of the Kathmandu Valley. The temple is of typical Newar pagoda-style built of brick and wood on a square plan. The only entrance is on the east leading to the central room with a large stone statue of Shiva and Parvati in the Uma Maheshwar pose, flanked by Nandi (Shiva’s bull) and a lion.