Kathmandu - Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath, visible from afar on a hilltop site to the west of Kathmandu, takes pride in being the second most important Buddhist shrine in the Valley after Bodnath. Legend connects Swayambhu, the self-born, primordial Buddha, with the earliest origins of Kathmandu. The Swayambhu Stupa, painted with the eyes of the omnipresent god, forms the centerpiece of the temple complex. Swayambhu plays a major part in the lives of the Vajrayana Buddhists of Northern Nepal and Tibet, but more especially of the Newari Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley.

Swayambhunath occupies a prehistoric cult site. Ancient legends suggest the site initially served a nature cult, only later becoming associated with Buddhism. The legends portray a close link between Swayambhu and the emergence of the valley. At a time when the Kathmandu Valley was still submerged there bloomed on the surface of the lake a lotus flower which gave forth a brilliant light, the light of Swayambhu. So that all might more easily worship the divine flame, Manjushri smote the earth with his sword, creating the Chobar gorge through which the waters of the lake drained away. Gods and men alike praised the miracle. Later, as the dark clouds of Hinduism massed over the land, the monk Shantikar Acharya, recognizing the danger threatening the incomparable treasure, covered the flame with a stone and erected a stupa over it. The oldest inscription in the temple precinct refers to the monastery as founded in about ad 460 during the reign of King Mana Deva. By the 13th c. it had become widely known, a fact to which the writings of a Tibetan pilgrim called Dharmasvami who spent eight years in Swayambhunath testify. In 1346 however, the Sultan of Bengal's Muslim troops reduced the shrine to rubble. It was rebuilt in 1372, the expense being borne by the nobility of Kathmandu. The bronze sections and bejeweled mast, made in Kathmandu, were carried up Swayambhunath Hill in procession. The stupa is assumed to have taken on its present shape at this particular time.

Much of the current lay-out of the temple site is owed to Pratapa Malla (1641-74). He created a pilgrim way from Kathmandu to Swayambhunath, building a bridge across the Vishnumati and adding the impressive flight of steps giving access to the shrine from the east. The two tall shikharas framing the stupa's tower also date from his time. A later inscription records a further rebuilding of the tower-like upper section following its destruction in 1751. The Hindu gods are said to have taken a great interest in these proceedings; Vishnu appeared in the guise of a Brahmin to explain exactly how the new tower should look - which also explains how a Hindu monarch came to be involved.

Both Jayaprakasha Malla, then King of Kathmandu, and the Gorkha King Prithvi Narayan Shah, soon to conquer the valley, contributed significantly to the rebuilding. Ever since 1639 the temple had been looked after by Tibetan lamas and a High Lama from Tibet was invited for the consecration.

The temple complex

The hill on which the Swayambhu Stupa stands is lightly wooded. Mani-stones inscribed with prayer formulae are seen everywhere (stones similarly engraved can be bought in the car park west of the stupa). Six large statues of Buddha mark the foot of the long staircase which ascends between more statues - of elephants, horses, peacocks, Garudas and lions, bearers of the five Dhyani Buddhas - arranged in pairs, at intervals, one on each side of the steps.

The entrance to the precinct is dominated by a huge gilded vajra rising above a mandala worked in a drum-shaped base. Animals, symbols of the years of the Tibetan twelve-year cycle, decorate the walls, while a snake, head and tail pointing east, forms a border round the drum above. The vajra is itself a symbol of Buddha Aksobhya, whose shrine is on the east side of the stupa. Either side of the entrance stands a tall shikhara, its porch aligned inwards towards the vajra. The position of the shikharas is not, however, determined by the entrance but by the perspective when viewed from the south-east, i.e. from the direction of Kathmandu. The shikharas are dedicated to Ugratara and Vajra Yogini, each depicted coupled with their respective Buddhas. Pratapa Malla is said to have erected the two shrines to commemorate his two deceased wives whose features the images bear.