Patan - Bhimsen Mandir

Bhimsen, a hero of the Mahabharata epic whose exploits are illustrated on a wooden plaque on the temple's south side, is the patron deity of merchants. Appropriately enough his shrine is richly endowed. The temple was erected at the time of Srinivasa Malla and rebuilt after a fire in 1682. Although the site is believed to have been consecrated as long ago as Thakuri times, nothing is known about earlier buildings.

The large, platformless three-storied pagoda has the traditional rectangular plan of a Bhimsen or Bhairava shrine, the devotional image being housed on the first floor. The furnishings are particularly opulent. Small bells hang from the widely jutting roofs, the struts of which are superbly carved. The gilded upper roof