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Patan
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| The
ancient name of Patan is Lalitpur,
meaning city of beauty. It is indeed
a city of beauty and grace and is
planned on a circular format with
Buddhist stupas at each of the four
points of the compass. The city is
three kilometres south-east of Kathrnandu
across the southern bank of the river
Bagmati. Like
Kathmandu , its most photogenic
centre of attraction is its
Durbar Square complex, situated right
in the middle of the market place. |
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| The
city is full of Buddhist monuments and Hindu
temples, with fine bronze gateways, guardian
deities also and wonderful carvings. Noted
for its craftsmen and metal workers, it
is also known as the city of artists. The
city is believed to have been built during
the reign of Vira Deva in 299 A.D. |
Tourist Places
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Patan
Durbar Square
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| This
whole square is a cluster of fine pagoda
temples and stone statues; it is at the
same time the business hub of the city.
At every step one comes across a piece of
art or some images of various deities, testifying
to the consummate skill of Patan's anonymous
artists. The ancient palace of the Malla
kings and the stone waterbaths associated
with various legends and episodes of history
are especially interesting to visitors.
The stone temple of Lord Krishna
and the Royal Bath (Tushahity)
with its intricate stone and bronze carvings
are two other masterpieces in the same vicinity.
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| Hiranya
Varna Mahavibar |
| This
three-storeyed golden pagoda of Lokeshwar
(Lord Buddha) was built in the twelfth century
A.D. by King Bhaskar Varma. Located in the
courtyard of Kwabahal, this temple belongs
to a class of its own. A golden image of
Lord Buddha and a big prayer wheel can be
seen on the pedestal of the upper part of
the Vihar while intricate decorative patterns,
worked out on its outer walls, add charm
to the mellow richness of the shrine.
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| Jagat
Narayan |
| The
Jagat Narayan temple is a tall Shikhara-style
temple consecrated to Lord Vishnu. The temple
is built out of the red bricks on the bank
of the Sagmati at Sankharnul and enshrines
many stone images. The fine metal statue
of Garuda placed on a stone monolith is
quite eye-catching along with similarly
placed images of Ganesh and Hanuman.
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Krishna
Temple |
| The
temple of Lord Krishna
holds a commanding position
in Patan's palace complex. Though its style
is not wholly native, it is reckoned to
be one of the most perfect specimens of
the Nepalese templecraft. The three-storeyed
stone temple continues to elicit high praise
from lovers of art and beauty. It was built
by King Siddhi Narasingha Malla in the sixteenth
century A.D. Most of the important scenes
from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics
have been carved in bas-relief. The minute
details of this relief work clearly show
the high level that the art of stone carving
had attained in the sixteenth century.
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| Mahaboudba |
| The
temple of Mahaboudha
is a masterpiece of brick and
tile. Like the Krishna Mandir, it reveals
an art tradition which evolved outside of
Nepal ; it also shows that the native
craftsmanship of the Nepalese can do proper
justice to any art form. This temple was
built by Abhaya Raj, a priest of Patan and
is sometimes referred to as the temple of
a million Buddhas because every single brick
depicts a small image of Buddha an astonishing
total of nine thousand bricks. It was levelled
to the ground in the great earthquake of
1933 but was rebuilt exactly to the original
specifications, thus proving that templecraft
is still one of the living arts of Napal.
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| Rudra
Varna Mahavihar |
| This
is one of Patan's oldest Buddhist monasteries.
Adjacent to the monastery there is a temple
that contains a fine image of Lord Buddha.
The courtyard of this temple is like a gallery
of different bronze and stone art works.
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| Popularly
believed, though not scholastically endorsed,
to have been built by Ashoka, the Buddhist
Emperor of
India
, these stupas stand
at four different corners of Patan giving
the whole city a monastic character. All
these Buddhist mounds were built in 250
A.D. at the time when Buddhism was making
headway to the Kathmandu Valley
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| Machchhendranath |
| The
temple of
Machchhendranath
is another centre of attraction in Patan.
The temple lies in the middle of a wide
spacious quadrangle just at the outer rim
of the market place. A fine clay image of
Avalokiteshwar or red Machchhendranath is
housed here for six months every year after
which it is taken round the city of
Patan in a colourful chariot festival beginning
in April-May and lasting sometimes for several
months. |
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Patan
Travel Reservation Form
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