Gokarneshwor

Gokarneshwor Municipality
Municipality
Gokarna Mahadev Temple
Gokarneshwor Municipality Location in Nepal Show map of Bagmati Province Gokarneshwor Municipality Gokarneshwor Municipality (Nepal) Show map of Nepal
Coordinates: 27°44′0″N85°23′0″E / 27.73333°N 85.38333°E / 27.73333; 85.38333
Country	Nepal
Province	Bagmati
District	Kathmandu
Established	2014
Named after	Gokarneshwor Mahadev Temple
Government
•  Mayor	Deepak Kumar Risal (NC)
•  Deputy Mayor	Sannani Lama (CPN-UML)
Area
• Total	58.5 km2 (22.6 sq mi)
Population  (2021 Nepal census)
• Total	149,366
• Density	2,600/km2 (6,600/sq mi)
• Ethnicities	Newar Hyolmo Sherpa Rai Limbu Gurung Brahman Chhetri Tamang Magar
Time zone	UTC+5:45 (NST)
Website	gokarneshwormun.gov.np

Gokarneshwor is a municipality in Kathmandu District in the Bagmati Province of Nepal that was established on 2 December 2014 by merging the former Village development committees Sundarijal, Nayapati, Baluwa, Jorpati and Gokarna. ^{[1] [2]} The office of the municipality is that of the former Jorpati village development committee. The river Bagmati has its origin as the name Bagh Dwar situated in the middle of the Shivapuri jungle in this municipality.

In the village on the banks of the Bagmati River stands the Gokarna Mahadev temple, built in 1582. ^[3] There also lies the Kanti Bhairav temple, built in around 17th century during the reign of King Pratap Malla. In late August or early September people go to this temple to bathe and make offerings in honor of their fathers, living or dead, on a day called Gokarna Aunsi. ^[4]

The Gokarna Forest Reserve is located in the area. Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital is located Southwest of Gokarneshwor.

Toponymy

Linguistic origin

• Linguistic family: Indoeuropean
• Language: Sanskrit

Etymology

“Gokarna” comes from Sanskrit, composed of “go” (cow) and “karna” (ear), meaning “cow’s ear.” “Ishwor” means god or lord. Therefore, Gokarneshwor is interpreted as “the Lord with cow’s ears,” an epithet of Shiva, and refers to the temple of Gokarneshwor Mahadev.

Go (गो) means “cow” and comes from Sanskrit go (गो) meaning cow, cattle. Karna (कर्ण) means “ear” and comes from Sanskrit karṇa (कर्ण) meaning ear. Ishwor / Ishvara (ईश्वर) means “lord, god” and comes from Sanskrit ईश्वर (īśvara) meaning supreme lord, deity. The toponym Gokarneshwor is a Sanskrit compound meaning “the Lord with cow’s ears,” one of the names of Shiva, directly linked to the famous Gokarna temple near Kathmandu.

Schools

Some of the well renowned schools in the municipality are Young Hearts Boarding High school , East-Pole Higher Secondary School, Aakashdeep English School, Shangri-la Public School,GOKARNESWOR MAHADEV ENGLISH SECONDARY SCHOOL, Saraswati Secondary School, Manakamana Secondary School, Bouddha International School, Venus Public School, Nava Arunima School, Eyelens English School HIMS school and Timeline School. The municipality has large number of educational institutions in the nation, trailing just behind Kathmandu Mahanagarpalika.

Population

The municipality has a total population of 107,351 according to 2011 Nepal census. ^[5] At the time of the 2011 Nepal census the village had a population of 7,508 with 1,768 households. ^[6] The population of the municipality grew to 149,366 at the 2021 Nepal census. Around 99.4% of the residents are Nepali citizens and 85.5% are literate. ^[7]

Settlements

Jorpati, Nayabasti, Bensigaun, Attarkhel, Narayantar, Dakshindhoka, Jagdol, Gokarna,Shankhadol, Sundarijal, Nayapati are the settlement areas of local people within that area.

Notable residents

Writer Ramesh Bikal was born near Gokarna in 1932. ^[8]

Gallery

A panaromic view of Gokarna Mahadev

Gokarna Mahadev Temple

References

1. "Govt announces 61 municipalities". The Kathmandu Post. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. "Govt creates 61 new municipalities". República. 3 December 2014. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
3. B. Mayhew, J. Bindloss, and S. Armington (2006). Nepal. 7th Edition, Lonely Planet. ISBN   1-74059-699-4
4. David Reed; James McConnachie (2002), The rough guide to Nepal, Rough Guide Travel Guides (5, illustrated ed.), Rough Guides, pp. 188, 204, ISBN   9781858288994
5. "2011 Nepal census (Ward Level)" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-31.
6. Government of Nepal, National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics (November 2012). National Population and Housing Census 2011 (Village Development Committee/Municipality) (PDF). Vol. 02, NPHC 2011. Kathmandu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
7. "Gokarneshwar (Municipality, Nepal) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
8. Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature (Voices from Asia), edited and translated by Michael J. Hutt, University of California Press, 1991. p. 244. ISBN   9780520910263