The Bagmati River flows through the Kathmandu valley of Nepal, separating the cities of Kathmandu and Patan, before flowing through Madesh Province of southern Nepal and joining the Kamla River in the Indian state of Bihar. It is considered holy by both Hindus and Buddhists. A number of Hindu temples are located on its banks.
Kirtipur is a Municipality and an ancient city of Nepal. The Newars are the natives of Kipoo (Kirtipur). It is located in the Kathmandu Valley 5 km south-west of the city of Kathmandu. It is one of the five dense municipalities in the valley, the others being Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Madhyapur Thimi. It is one of the most famous and religious places to visit. Many people visit this place not only for its natural environment but also to visit temples. The city was listed as a UNESCO tentative site in 2008.
Hinduism is the main and largest religion of Nepal. In 2006, the country declared itself a secular country through democracy, after the abolition of its monarchy. According to the 2021 census, the Hindu population in Nepal is estimated to be around 23,677,744 which accounts for at least 81.19% of the country's population, the highest percentage of Hindus of any country in the world. Vikram Samvat, one of the two official calendars used in Nepal, is a solar Hindu calendar essentially the same to that widespread in North India as a religious calendar, and is based on Hindu units of time.
The Kathmandu Valley, also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley, National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. It lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of the Indian subcontinent and the broader Asian continent, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists. There are seven World Heritage Sites within the valley.
Swayambhunath is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees', for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shingun may be of in Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Swayambhu, meaning 'self-sprung'. For the Buddhist Newars, in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice Swayambhu occupies a central position, it is the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha. Swayambhu is the Hindu name.
Ganga is the personification of the river Ganges, who is worshipped by Hindus as the goddess of purification and forgiveness. Known by many names, Ganga is often depicted as a fair, beautiful woman, riding a divine crocodile-like creature called the makara.
Gaurighat is an ancient Nepalese city at the Bank of Bagmati river in the Kathmandu Valley. Now a part of the Kathmandu District, Gaurighat is located in the northern side of Pashupatinath temple. Gaurighat hosts temples of Goddess Parvati and Kiranteswar Mahadev, the Kirant incarnation of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is considered the principal deity of Nepalese Hindu cult. The shrine of Gaurighat consists of a Hanuman statue, a Ganesh statue and the most important of all - a statue of Goddess Parvati. The temple dedicated to Parvati is called the Guhyeshwari Temple.
Madhyapur Thimi, also known as Thimi, is a municipality in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. Thimi lies between Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley. It is one of the ancient cultural and historical places along the trade route from Bhaktapur to Kathmandu. The city is situated on elevated land and occupies an area of 11.47 square kilometres (4.43 sq mi), divided into nine administrative wards.
Danchhi is a village and former Village Development Committee that is now part of Kageshwari-Manohara Municipality in Kathmandu District in Province No. 3 of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, it had a population of 11,246 and had 2,593 households in it. Danchhi is now included in Kageswori Manohara Municipality. Danchhi/Thali is bounded by Bagmati and Manohara river. The major places include Thali/थली, Nayapati, Bhadrawas, Hariyalinagar, Dumakhal, and Gajarkot. The major government schools are Shree Sahid Aadarsha Uchha MaVi, Shree Kanti Bhairab MaVi, and Shree Chaulanarayan PraVi. Private schools include Miniland English High School, Mount Everest Secondary School, Pragya Sadan School, Alpine Academy, and Hindu Vidhya Peeth.
Newar art is the art form practiced over centuries by Newar people. The pictorial art consists of:
Hanuman Dhoka is a complex of structures with the Royal Palace of the Malla kings and also of the Shah dynasty in the Durbar Square of central Kathmandu, Nepal.The Hanuman Dhoka Palace gets its name from the stone image of Hanuman, the Hindu deity, that sits near the main entryway. 'Dhoka' means door or gate in Nepali. The buildings were severely damaged in the 2015 earthquake.
The architectural heritage of Kathmandu city is integral to that of the Kathmandu valley since all monuments have evolved over centuries of craftsmanship influenced by Hindu and Buddhist religious practices. The architectural treasure of the Kathmandu valley has been categorized under the well known seven groups of heritage monuments and buildings. In 2006, UNESCO declared these seven groups of monuments as a World Heritage Site (WHS). The seven monuments zones cover an area of 188.95 hectares, with the buffer zone extending to 239.34 hectares. The Seven Monument Zones (Mzs) inscribed originally in 1979 with a minor modification in inscribed year as 2006, are: Five monuments in Kathmandu – Durbar square of Hanuman Dhoka, Hindu temples of Pashupatinath and Changunarayan, the Buddha stupas of Swayambu and Boudhanath; and two monuments outside Kathmandu city limits, in the satellite towns of Patan and Bhktapur – Durbar square at Patan, Durbar square at Bhaktapur. Brief details of the five Kathmandu city monuments are elaborated here.
Rajopadhyaya also called Newari Brahmin is the main division of Newar Brahmins in Nepal. The Rajopadhyayas claim to be originated in Kānyakubja or modern day Kannauj, in the north of India, a city with a prestigious history from where the Bahuns also claim to come. They along with Bahuns claim to be sub-division of Kānyakubja Brāhmins.
Budhanilkantha Temple, located in Budhanilkantha, Nepal, is a Hindu open air temple dedicated to Lord Mahavishnu. Budhanilkantha Temple is also known as the Narayanthan Temple, and can be identified by a large reclining statue of Lord Mahavishnu.
The sculpture of Nepal is best known for small religious figures and ritual objects in bronze or copper alloy, but also has other strengths. The Newar people of Nepal had a long-lasting specialism in casting small bronze figures, mostly religious and especially Buddhist, considerable numbers of which were exported to India and Tibet over many centuries.
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. 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.
Bhaleshwor Mahadev is a Hindu temple located in Chandragiri hill in south-west side of Kathmandu Valley. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located at the altitude of 2551 meters above sea level. The temple was built by Chandragiri Hills on the historic and religious site. The temple was designed by the architect Shankar Nath Rimal. The temple is connected to the Kathmandu valley by a cable car.
Bhairabsthan Temple is a Hindu temple of Bhairab or Bhairava located about 9 km north west from the city of Tansen, in Palpa district of Nepal at an elevation of about 1470 m msl.
The Statue of Lakshmi-Narayana is a historic Vaikuntha Kamalaja murti (statue) that composites the androgynous form of the Hindu god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi. The statue dates back to the 10th to 15th century and it was originally located in Patan, Nepal. The statue had been worshipped for 800 years until it was stolen in 1984 and ended up at the Dallas Museum of Art in the United States, before being returned to Nepal 37 years later on 5 March 2021. On December 5, 2021 statue is reinstated in Narayan temple, Patan lalitpur
