Chobar - Jal Vinayaka

The Chobar Gorge provides a dramatic backcloth to the Jal Vinayaka Mandir, one of the Kathmandu Valley's principal shrines to Ganesh. The three-storied pagoda was built in 1602, though the site has been in use for much longer. The upper roof struts have carvings of the eight Bhairavas and the eight Ashta Matrikas. Ganesh appears on the level below, flanked by beautiful female figures; beneath them are some little erotic carvings. On the platform of the temple are figures of Shiva and Parvati (Uma Maheshwar) dating from the 12th c. The image is simply a rock, on which a crown is placed on certain weekdays. Prayers to Ganesh are mainly for wisdom and fertility. Those seeking special blessing come on 21 consecutive Tuesdays bearing a total of 1000 red mulas (a kind of radish) and 1000 ladoos (Ganesh's favorite sweet). This combination of sweet and sour is thought most likely to succeed with the god. In front of the temple stands a column with the statue of a rat, Ganesh's bearer. He too is shown bringing ladoo for the deity. Either side of the statue are bells which, as an inscription explains, were cast with the aid of the first sack of cement produced by the neighboring cement factory. Built with German aid the factory has brought terrible environmental pollution as well as being completely out of keeping with this historic and culturally important site.