The Story of Manakamana Temple
Learn about Manakamana Temple; story of how it was built; and about the sister goddesses of Manakamana Devi.
The Manakamana Temple is a Hindu two-story temple located in the Gorkha District of Nepal, a dedicated place of goddess Bhagwati, an incarnation of Parvati.
The term Manakamana is derived from two words i.e. “mana” which symbolizes the heart and “kamana” meaning wish. So, it is claimed that if a person wishes from his inner heart here then his wish will be fulfilled.
About the Holy Temple
This holy place is nearly 140 kilometers from the capital city Kathmandu and approximately 94 km from Pokhara. It is about 1,300 meters above sea level and 12 km south of Gorkha town.
The Annapurna II, Lamjung Himal, and Manaslu-Himachali can be seen from the hill. In the south of the temple, there are river valleys of Trisuli and Marsyangdi rivers flowing in its west.
It is about 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) away from Anbu Khaireni so one can reach Manakamana within 3 hours by hiking. Since 1998, there is also a facility of the Manakamana Cable Car for pilgrims.
Every year, thousands of pilgrims visit the Manakamana temple to worship the Goddess Bhagwati. Many even sacrifice animals at the temple. However, the sacrifice of birds like roosters, pigeons, and ducks has been recently banned by the District Livestock Service Office, Gorkha.
People mostly go for Manakamana darshan during the Dashain festival between September to October, as well as on Nag Panchami which falls from July to August.
Manakamana is designed in the traditional Nepalese pagoda architecture, features an ambulatory outside, and covers about 3.8930 square kilometers of land. The restoration of the temple, after it was damaged by the 2015 earthquake, has recently been completed. A gold-plated roof was also added during the renovation.
Source: Wikipedia
Story of Manakamana Devi
Per Nepali mythology, Manakamana Temple was founded during the times of two Gorkha rulers, Ram Shah, and Prithvipati Shah in the 17th century.
It is believed that the Queen of Gorkha had divine powers of the temple – a truth only the persistent Lakhan Thapa knew about. One day, the king discovered his wife in the form of the goddess Manakamana; and he mysteriously perished.
Following the traditional Hindu practice of committing Sati, the queen killed herself on her husband’s funeral day. Before her scarification, she informed Thapa that she would return.
Six months after her demise, a farmer found a stone while working on his field from which blood and milk were said to have streamed. When Thapa learned about it, he immediately went to the location and began to worship the stone with Hindu tantric practices. On the same spot, Thapa founded the present-day shrine.
Meanwhile, some historians claim Manakamana is an incarnation of King Ram Shah’s wife Champawati, who reappeared while his son Dambar Shah was in power. A few also indicate that she reappeared during King Prirthvi Narayan Shah’s reign, who was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom.
Chhimkeshwori Temple
Chhimkeshwori Temple lies at the hilltop of Tanahun district, in the Mahabharata region that lies above 2,134 meters of sea level.
Myths claim the goddess Chhimkeshowri is the elder sister of the goddess Akala of Tanahun, and the goddess Manakamana of Gorkha.
Although it may not be as popular as the Manakamana temple, many devotees still gather at the Chhimkeshwori temple to ask for her divine blessings.
According to legend, the ancient statue in a prostrate position located at one corner of the temple represents the power of Chimmkeshwori as the elder goddess.
