Gorkha Manakamana Temple – Nepal

Address

Gorkha Manakamana Temple Gorkha District, Manakamana, Nepal

Diety

Amman: Bhagwati

Introduction

Manakamana Temple is dedicated to Goddess Bhagwati, an incarnation of Parvati and it is situated in the village of Manakamana in Gorkha District, Gandaki Province, Nepal. The Manakamana Temple is located 1,300 meters (4,300 ft) above the sea level in the Kafakdada Hill which sits in the confluence between Trishuli and Marsyangdi in the Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality in Gorkha. It is approximately 106 kilometers (66 mi) west of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and about 94 kilometers (58 mi) from the west of Pokhara.

Puranic Significance

According to Nepali legend, Manakamana Temple was built in the 17th century during the reign of two Kings of Gorkha, Ram Shah or Prithvipati Shah. The Queen of Gorkha possessed “divine powers” of Manakamana which was only known by the persist Lakhan Thapa. One fine day, the king saw his wife in form of Goddess Manakamana, and persists as a lion, after he told her about this the king mysteriously died. Per historical practice of Sati, the queen sacrificed herself by sitting atop her deceased husband’s funeral pyre. Prior to her death, she told Thapa that she would appear again, six months later, a farmer working on the field split a stone which apparently started a stream of blood and milk. After hearing about this, Thapa went to where the stone was located and started to do tantric rituals which halted the stream. Later he built a shrine at the same spot so that their wishes can come true, and also the persist of the temple necessity should be the ancestor of Thapa. Manakamana is thought to be Champawati, wife of Ram Shah, she reappeared during his son Dambar Shah’s reign, and according to other sources indicate that she appeared during the reign of Prithvi Narayan Shah, founder of present-day Nepal. The temple is the holy site of Goddess Bhagawati devi, an incarnation of Lakshmi with Garud as protector. Mana translates as “heart” and “kamana” as “wish” and it is believed that the Bhagwati grants wishes of its devotees.

Special Features

The significance of the Manakamana Temple is that devotees believe that the goddess grants wishes to people who visit her shrine and worship her with devotion. According to mythology, the universe consists of five elements- earth, fire, water, air, and ether. Offerings to the Goddess are made on this basis.

Festivals

Manakamana darshan is most popular during Dashain (Sept –Oct) and Nag Panchami (July –August) during which time devotees stand for as long as five to ten hours to pray to Goddess Bhagwati.