About a week ago we took a family trip to the World Heritage Site - Changu Narayan. Well, this is not my first time. I have been to this temple almost every year as far as I can remember except for a few exceptions. However, each year I feel different going to this age old temple. Every year around this time I realize how we have grown over the years - as a family and as individuals.
The same rituals seem a little more complicated, a little more easier. Why this and not that? I question more. Lets do it a shortcut way. I propose. I organize and I plan. There are a hundred and one things that needs to be taken care of.
There is the usual Samay Baji with a full fledged Bhwe that we prepare. It is basically a newari Bhwe cum a puja cum a picnic. Baji, Wo, Haku Musya (black soyabean), Bhuti (Bodi, Beans), Chwela (Buff meat), dried and fried fish, with some marinated ginger are the basic items in a Samay Jwalaa (set). I now forget what each thing represents but each item has its distinct significance in a Samay set. Can you believe this, each Haku Musya on your plate, the soyabeans, represent a live sacrificial Buffalo. Ever since I heard of this , I cudn't get it out of my mind. More so, due to the resemblance of a black musya to the black buffalo. How could they think of it man!
King Mandev II built the temple. It is still the same basically. People are surprized how it survived the big quake that hit Kathmandu. The surroundings have become a little more nosier, and little signs of the urbane world have cropped up in the vicinity with the interest of the young generation to attract tourists and visitors. Little eat outs, a bus stand, red & white Coke , small tourist shops selling curios seem a spillover from any other tourist destination around Kathmandu.
I panted less this time as I took the so familiar climb uphill. The temple courtyard is a steep climb uphill just about 15 minutes.
I stood in awe as I faced the temple's magnificient architecture. The carvings are very minute, and intricately done. There are beautiful wooden portrayals of gods and goddesses. The temple rests atop the hill as a lion rests under a tree. It is beautiful, it is powerful and it attracts people . It rests so softly and magnificiently. You get a swooping view of the cupped valley below.
Among the many interesting legends this temple holds, one of them is about a single rice grain. Myths and legends hold that long time back in Kathmandu, before people cooked rice (still the staple), all they needed was a single grain of rice. They put it in a pot as big as they wanted the quantity of rice. And when you put it to boil, the pot would be full. A single grain of rice when cooked would fill any pot you cooked it in.
The twist is here. An oversmart jerk got too curious and greedy. He broke a grain of rice into two halves and tried cooking it the same way to save an extra grain. The gods were angry at this miserly act and never showed bestowed the miracle again. We get as much cooked rice as we put to boil today. Wow. This is as much I can remember of the story. And Changu Narayan holds one of the legendary rice grains. It is hung up high on one of its main facade. You can see a white grain as big as a Rugby ball propped up behind a pillar.
There are many other stories, and incidents connected to the temple. Beside the main temple, in the same courtyard is a more flatter structure stretched lengthwise. This is the temple we go to each year. It was built by one of our ancestors. It holds 13 goddesses - they are different forms of the goddess Kali. The main deity among these is the Chhindamasta Devi. The word literally translated means the headless goddess. And it is true that all idols of the goddess found anywhere is without the head. She is a very powerful goddess it is believed. And she holds her head in one of her hands, the blood still dripping.
There are other smaller structure built around the courtyard.
Anyways, once again I have been to Changu. It is a small place to spend the day. There is nothing besides the mound on which the temple rests. But it is an ideal destination if you are into architectures and want to take a short trip around Kathmandu.
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