Patan - Bagalamukhi Shrine

This much-visited rectangular shrine to the goddess Bagalamukhi is situated near the Kumbeshvara Temple. Bagalamukhi, an aspect of Durga, is considered a destructive force responsible for the cholera which afflicts the valley every rainy season. The little devotional image shelters beneath a baldachin of snakes.

The shrine also boasts a life-size wooden figure of Bhairava, secure behind bars for the protection of supplicants rather than the god. His large erect penis is often decorated with flowers. So potent is he that women are said to be consumed with desire at the mere sight of him. They seek his help in curing infertility (commonly ascribed only to women), menstrual disorders and frigidity.