Report on Historical Place-Changunarayan

Acknowledgement
The success and final outcome of this project was not possible without the guidance and assistance of several
people and I am extremely fortunate to have got this all along the completion of my project work. I would
not forget to thank the people who helped me a lot in completion of this project work. I would like to express
my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mr. Durga Bahadur Ale who gave me the golden opportunity to
do this wonderful project on the historical place of our country – Changu Narayan which also helped me in
doing a lot of research and came to know about so many new things. I am really thankful to him. Secondly I
would also like to thank my parents, brothers and sisters who helped me a lot in finishing this project within
the limited time. I am making this project not only for marks but to also increase my knowledge. THANKS
AGAIN TO ALL WHO HELPED ME.

Minusha Gurung
Table of Contents
TopicPage no.
Unit I
1.1Introduction1
1.2Objectives2
1.3Methodology2
1.3.1Primary Method2
1.3.2Secondary Method2
Unit II
2.1Findings3-5
2.2Conclusion5
2.3Recommendation6
Unit III
3.1Photo Gallery7
Unit I
1.1 Introduction
Nepal is a country with great historical importance. The Newars used to live in the Nepalese valley since a
long time and thus they developed the culture of Hindus and Buddhists. This country holds great importance
for the Buddhists worldwide. There are many Buddhist pilgrimage sites, temples, pagodas and shrines.
Historical monuments give a glimpse of Buddhism in some way or the other. Ten historical sites which are
there in Nepal have been graded as the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. This shows how important Nepal
is in terms of history. Changu Narayan, Patan Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Chitwan and Sagarmatha are
some of the historical marvels of Nepal.

There are many religion, language, customs, tradition, norms and values, dress, etc. These people celebrate
different festivals and worship different Gods and Goddesses. As many people are Hindu there are many
temples in our country. In Kathmandu also there are many temples, so it is known as the ‘city of temples’.
There are many famous temples which are enlisted in World Heritage Site by UNESCO like Pashupati Nath
Temple, Changu Narayan Temple, Swambhunath Stupa, Bouddha Nath Stupa etc.

My report deals with the Changu Narayan Temple which is one of the Temple listed in World Heritage Site.
This ancient temple of Changu Narayan is located on a high hilltop that is also known as Changu. The
temple is
surrounded by forest with champak tree and a small village, known as Changu Village. The temple is located
in Changu VDC of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. This hill is about 22 kilometer east of Kathmandu and 8
kilometer north of Bhaktapur. The Manahara River flows beside the hill. This shrine is dedicated to Lord
Vishnu and held in especial reverence by the Hindu people. This temple is considered as the oldest temple in
Nepal. It is believed that this temple was built in 4th century. The temple is adorned by some of the best
specimen of stone, wood, and metal craft in the valley. The temple stands as the epitome of culture, religion,
history and faith of the Kathmandu valley.

The main physical aspects of this place are:

Historical pillar
Garuda
Statue of Bhupalendra Malla
Chanda Narayan (Garuda Narayan
Sridhar Vishnu
Vaikuntha Vishnu
Chhinnamasta
Vishworup
Vishnu Vikrant
Narasimha
Kileshwor

1.2 Objectives
Every project has its own objective to explore facts and figure. So, the major objective of my visit was:

1. To find out the historical and cultural background of the area 2. To know about the present condition of
the area
3. To identify the importance and the problems of the area

1.3 Methodology

In order to collect the necessary data, I applied the following methods:

1.3.1Primary Method:
I visited the site carefully and observed the various elements such as inscriptions, temples etc. and studied
the religious, cultural, social, archaeological and geographical aspects of the area. Besides, I also visited the
Changu Museum, and the explanation of the coordinator of that museum helped me a lot too.

1.3.2Secondary Method:
I read news-articles, books, articles, and search internet in order to collect all the necessary information and
data.

Unit II
2.1 Findings The ancient temple of Changu Narayan is located on a high hilltop that is also known as
Changu or Dolagiri. The temple is surrounded by forest with champak tree and a small village, known as
Changu Village. The temple is located in Changu VDC of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. This hill is about 8
miles east of Kathmandu and a few miles north of Bhaktapur. The Manahara River flows beside the hill.
This shrine is dedicated to Lord Visnu and held in especial reverence by the Hindu people. This temple is
considered as the oldest temple in Nepal. The pagoda style temple has several masterpieces of 5th and 12th
century Nepalese art. According to legends Changu Narayan temple existed as early as 325 A.D. in the time
of Licchavi King Hari Datta Verma and it is one of Nepal’s richest structures historically as well as
artistically. In the grounds there is a stone pillar inscription of great importance recording the military
exploits of King Man Deva who reigned from 496 A.D. to 524 A.D. The first epigraphic evidence of
Nepalese history found in the temple premises during the reign of the Licchavi King Mandeva dating back to
464 A.D. shows that Changu had already been established as a sacred site in the 3rd century A.D. It is the
earliest inscription known in Nepal. The temple was restored during the lifetime of Ganga Rani, consort of
Siva Simha Malla who reigned from 1585 to 1614. There are records of the temple burning in the year of
822 Nepal Samvat (1702 A.D.), after which reconstruction was carried out. More
inscriptions in gilt-copper plates were added by Bhaskara Malla in 1708 A.D. Legend about Changu
Narayan. In ancient time a Gwala, a cow herder, had brought a cow from a Brahman named Sudashan. The
cow was known for producing large quantity of milk. The Gwala used to take the cow to Changu for
grazing. At that time Changu was a forest of Champak tree. While grazing the cow it always goes to the
shade of a particular tree. In the evening when the Gwala took the cow home and started milking the cow he
got only very few amount of milk. This continued several days. He became very sad so he called the
Brahmin and told him that the cow is not giving enough milk. Brahmin after observing the fact from his own
eyes then planned with the Gwala to inspect the activities of cow during the day while she was grazing in the
forest. Both Brahmin and Gwala hide themselves behind the trees and speculate the activities of cow. The
cow went into the shade of a particular champak tree. To their surprise a small black boy came out from the
tree and started liking the cow milk. Both became very furious and they thought that the boy must be the
devil and tree must be its home. So Brahmin cut down the champak tree. When the Brahmin was cutting
down the tree a fresh human blood came out from the tree. Both Brahmin and Gwala became worried and
they thought that they have committed the great crime and they started crying. From the tree lord Vishnu
emerged out and he told the Brahmin that it was not their fault. Lord Vishnu told them the story that he had
committed a heinous crime by killing Shudarshan’s father unknowingly while hunting in the forest. After
that he was cursed for the crime. He then wandered on earth on his mouth, the ‘Garuda’ eventually
descending on the hill at Changu. There he lived in anonymity, surviving on milk stolen from a cow. When
Brahmin cut down the tree, lord Vishnu was beheaded which freed Lord Vishnu from his sins. After hearing
these words from Vishnu, Brahmin and Gwala started worshiping the place and they established a small time
in the name of Lord Vishnu. Ever since that day, the site has been held sacred. Even today we can find the
descendant of Sudarshan Brahimin as priest of the temple and the descendents of Gwala as ghutiyars
(conservators).

Changu Narayan Temple is situated at the top of the hill surrounded by forest of Champak tree. On the main
way to temple courtyard, we can find human settlement. People from Newar community live in and around
Changu
Narayan area. With the development in tourism in this place, we can find many medium and small sized
hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. An ancient stone tap is located on the way to changunaran which is
believed to have existed since the time of Lichhavi. About Temple art and architectures: Changu Narayan is
considered as the oldest temple of Nepal. It remains a milestone in Nepali temple architecture with rich
embossed works. The two storied roof temple is standing in a high plinth of stone. The temple is all
surrounded by sculptures and arts related to Lord Vishnu. Also we can find the temple of lord Shiva, Ashta
Matrika, Chhinnamasta, Kileshwor and Krishna inside the courtyard of main temple. There are for entrances
to the temple and these four entrance gates are guarded by life size pairs of animals such as lions, sarabhas,
graffins and elephants on each side of the entrances. The ten incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the other idols
are carved in the struts, which support the roof. The entrance door looks like gold plated with carving of
Nagas (snakes). On the main entrance gate (i.e. western entrance gate), we can find the Chakra, Sankha,
Kamal and Khadga all at the top of a stone pillar. These stone pillars has inscription in Sanskrit. This
inscription is considered to be the oldest inscription of Nepal and the stone inscription pillar was erected by
Lichhavi King Manadeva in 464 AD. The following monument are located while visiting the temple from
the right side after entering from the main entrance (Eastern gate) to courtyard. The following monument are
located while visiting the temple from the right side after entering from the main entrance (Eastern gate) to
courtyard. Historical pillar ? erected by Mandeva in 464 AD

Garuda? flying vehicle of Lord Vishnu which has got a human face and is a devotee of Vishnu. Statue of
Bhupalendra Malla? King of Kantipur and his queen BhuwanLakshmi. Chanda Narayan (Garuda Narayan?
7th century stone sculpture of Vishnu riding on Garuda. This sculpture has been depicted in the 10 rupee
paper note issued by Nepal Rastra Bank. Sridhar Vishnu? 9th century stone sculpture of Vishnu, Laxmi and
Garuda which stands on the pedestals of various motifs. Vaikuntha Vishnu? 16th century sculpture of
Vishnu seated on the lalitason position on the six armed Garuda and Laxmi seated on the lap of Vishnu
Chhinnamasta? Temple dedicated to Chhinnamasta devi, who beheaded herself, offered her own blood to
feed the hungry Dakini
and Varnini. Vishworup:- 7th century stone sculpture- beautifully carved that depicts the scene from the
Bhagwat Gita, in which Lord Krishna manifests his universal form to his devotee Arjun. Vishnu Vikrant?
7th century sculpture of Trivikram Vishnu that depicts the scene of popular Hindu myth of Lord Vishnu and
his beloved Bali Raja. Narasimha? 7th century sculpture of Narasimha , an incarnation of Lord Vishnu,
killing the demon King Hiranyakasyapa to save his beloved devotee Prahalad. Kileshwor:- small two storied
temples of Lord Shiva, who is believed to have appeared in this place for the protection of the hill.

An information center is established at the entrance to Changu Village. They issue tickets to tourist. They
also have brochure which provide information about the place. The information center is managed by
Changu Narayan VDC. The information center has a public toilet for tourist. Also drinking water facilities is
available for tourist. But the drink water facilities have not been managed properly. Only direct tap water is
available there.

A private museum is also located on in the Changu Narayan on the way to temple. It is said to be the first
private museum of Nepal and it has the collection of ancient coins, tools, arts and architectures. There is an
excellent collection of ancient, historical, artistic, religious, archaeological, cultural and other rare objects.
The museum has a good collection of ancient tools used by Newar family during the medieval period. It was
established o the occasion of millennium year 2000 AD with the permission of Changu Narayan VDC. The
entrance fee for Nepalese is NRs. 30 and NRs. 60 is charged for foreigner. Mostly foreigners and Nepali
students visit this museum.

2.2 Conclusion
Changu Narayan Area is very important in archaeological, religious, cultural and historical aspects. This
Temple was the administrative centre of King Mandev Malla, the first historical king of Nepal. The main
temple of Changu Narayan temple was an early temple of Nepal in pagoda style. The inscriptions available
in the walls, roofs, pillars are very valuable source of information about Nepalese history. It is venue for
many religious and
cultural celebrations like jatras, melas, etc. Since the ancient period, many festivals and fairs have been
organized on various occasions. The main features which make this temple valuable are: It is the oldest
temple in Kathmandu valley.

A Vishnu idol with ten heads and ten arms is a fine example of stone carving from the 5th century. The
temple is of great importance due to its idols and shrines having rich architectural beauty.

This place is very important place to learn about Nepalese history and about ancient things. This place tells
about different types of inscriptions on wood, metal etc. There are many idols, statue, sculpture etc. which
are very old.

The present condition of this place is bad. Though this place is listed in World Heritage Site, the local people
aren’t aware of conservation and development of this place. There is lack of proper facility of infrastructures
of transportation. This is not proper roadway to this place. Likewise the problem of drinking water also
exists around this place. Similarly there isn’t proper facility of communication as well. The whole area is
polluted through different types of pollution. It is losing its identities by different damage. There is very
dangerous risk of landslide around this place. There is lack of publicity about this place. It’s very difficult to
collect detail information around this place.

2.3 Recommendation

1. There is lack of publicity campaign so authorized body should publicize for the betterment of this place.

2. Environmental sanitation programs should be conducted to protect this place from different types of
pollution.

3. Security provision should be made strict and strong to protect this heritage from different types of anti-
social activities.
4. Timely renovation of this place should be done for the damaged structure of this site.

5. Different information centers should be built near this site so that many people could get vast amount of
information of this place.

6. Awareness among the local people should be raised in order to get their participation in the conservation
and development of this place.

7. The infrastructures of transportation, drinking water, as well as communication facilities should be

extended to make this place developed.

8. The land should be protected from the possible dangers of erosion through embankment and afforestation.
9. Different Information Centers should be established around this place so that students like us can collect
the more informatio.