Kathmandu - Kalmochan Mandir

The Kalmochan or Satya Narayan Temple is unusual in showing the influence of Mogul architecture (the Moguls were a Muslim dynasty of Turko-Mongol origin who ruled in India from 1526 to 1857). It was begun in 1852 by the then Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa and completed in 1873 by Jung Bahadur Rana. He came to power in the aftermath of a bloody massacre and is said to have buried the ashes of the murdered nobility in the foundations. The gilded griffins embellishing the four corners of the building are believed to have come from a temple to Vishnu which used to stand in Tundhikel. A statue of Surendra Bahadur Shah tops a column facing the temple, with an inscription listing his achievements. Access to the temple is from the Juddha Ghat