CULTURAL HERITAGE OF NEPAL Introduction to Cultural Heritag

Culture includes language, dress, traditional practice, literature, religion, dances, belief and others. These aspects are the assets of the society. They are also related to the environment, Cultural heritages are those things related to culture which passed on from one generation to next. Culture is linked with the human and social development activities. People cannot be away from their cultural phenomena. Almost all the human activities such as life-styles economic activities social activities are related to the culture. Culture is our life –related practice. Cultural heritages plays a vital role to introduce a country in an international area .Nepal is place of inhabitants of different ethnic groups so, they are different languages dialects, customs, traditions. The cultural heritages of Nepal are listed in the world heritage list by the help of UNESCO. The cultural heritages Nepal enlisted in the world heritage list are as follows:
1) Swyambhunath
2) Bhaktapur Durbar Square
3) Changu Narayan Temple
4) Kathmandu Durbar Square
5) Bauddhanath
6) Lumbini
7) Pashupatinath

Importance of cultural heritage
The importance of cultural heritages can be explains in a number of ways. Some of them are as follow :
a) Harmony in the society: Cultural heritages are closely related to people. If people practice their religious principle properly they will be in discipline. It helps to develop a harmony in the society.
b) Integral parts of an environment: The components of cultural heritages like ponds, rivers etc. are the part of natural environment and components such as temples, statues, stupas, and houses are part of physical environment. Therefore cultural heritages are integral parts of environment.
c) Sources of information: Cultural heritages contain lots of ancient civilization knowledge. People could study their ancient civilization.
d) Various social activities, national festivals, ceremony, fares and pilgrimage, religious places come under the cultural heritage.
e) Development of religion and culture helps to develop knowledge and skill related to it. It contributes to the development of education skills and arts in the country. It is necessary to study and explore the activities related to our culture to clear originality and values of our culture.
f) Each country has its own cultural heritage. It includes its originality, specialty of tradition and other valuable aspects. These are the most valuable assets of the country.
g) Cultural heritage includes different types of social activities, festivals ceremonies, religious place, religious ceremony etc. carry social values.
h) It has accumulated the originality, characteristics and traditions of the country. These are the precious properties of the nation. They have held the pride of the national

Maya Devi Temple

Maya Devi Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Maya in the holy city of Haridwar of Uttarakhand state in India. It is believed that the heart and navel of goddess Sati fell in the region where the temple stands today and thus it is sometimes referred to as a Shakti Peetha.
Goddess Maya is the Adhisthatri deity of Haridwar. She is a three-headed and four-armed deity who is believed to be an incarnation of Shakti. Haridwar was previously known as Mayapuri in reverence to this deity. The temple is a Siddh Peetha which are the places of worship where desires get fulfilled. It is one of three such Peethas located in Haridwar, the other two being Chandi Devi Temple and Mansa Devi Temple.
 
Description

The temple dates back to the eleventh century. It is one of the three ancient temples of Haridwar which are still intact, the other two being Narayana-shila and Bhairava Temple. The inner shrine consists of murtis (icons) of goddesses Maya in the centre, Kali on the left, Kamakhya on the right. There are also two other goddesses who are also forms of Shakti, present in the inner shrine. The temple is located to the east of Har ki Pauri and is easily accessible by buses and auto rickshaws. It is regarded as a must visit for devotees going to Haridwar. The temple is visited by many devotees from various parts of the country especially during the Navratra and the Kumbha Mela in Haridwar.The temple is visited by many devotees from various parts of the country especially during the Navratra and the Kumbha Mela in Haridwar.

Bagh Bhairab, The Guardian Deity Of Kirtipur

Bhairab is considered as the most terrifying form of Lord Shiva.  There are several images of Bhairab erected around the nooks and crannies of the Kathmandu valley, from temple premises to cremation sites to wheels of chariots. There are about sixty four different forms of Bhairab, seen in the images of him in Nepal, depicting him in his combined human form, demonic and animal characteristics.

One of the forms of Bhairab is Bagh Bhairab, also known as the guardian deity of Kirtipur, one of the oldest Newari settlements in Nepal. The three storied temple of Bagh Bhairab standly proudly in the brick-paved rectangular courtyard is believed to be built in 16^th century. With the main gate at the southern side, there are other two gates at the eastern and the western sides. The courtyard also houses some small shrines and stone images around it. The third roof o the temple is covered with gilt-copper while the other two are made up of tiles. The wooden pillars are carved with the images of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. These pillars are erected between the windows of the second storey and the names of the carved deities have been finely engraved on the pedestals below the images. With one in the first roof, six in the middle and eleven in the top roof, there are altogether eighteen pinnacles. There are old and faded wall paintings depicting the stories of Ramayan, Mahabharat and various other manifestations of Durga beneath the eaves of the first roof.

An idol of god of blood sacrifice, Hifa Dyo, is situated at the right side of the temple and any sacrifice made to Bhairab is directly offered to him here. On the second gate, there is a stone idol of goddess Kumari. Two torans which bear the fine cutting of Asta-Matriks, Asta-Bhairab and other gods and goddesses are situated over Hifa Dyo. A small space on the western wall of the temple is dedicated to Nasa Dyo, the god of music and dance. There are also some of the rusted weapons that were snatched away from the Gorkha-soldiers during the Gorkhalese attack on Kirtipur.

The temple houses a clay image of Bagh Bhairab which is in the left corner of the temple. The three glass-eyed tiger-god is tongue and toothless but is covered with silver and copper plates and is heavily ornamented. This god is called Byagresvar, the tiger god, Bhimsen Bhattarak (Bhimsen, the guardian deity), Gudei Sthanadhipati (the lord in the form of tiger) and Ajudyo (the ancestral god). The lord is regarded as the lord of knowledge, productivity and strength who could resist all the evils because of which all the auspicious ceremonies in Kirtipur are done only after worshipping the god.

Once in every twelve years, Bagh Bhairab dance is performed where the mask-dancers compose twelve deities like Bhairab, Mahadev, Ganesh, Ganga, Vaisnavi, Brahmayani, Indrani, Kumaru , Kalika, Barahi, Sinhini and Byaghini. The Gathus performs this dance in several places throughout the year. The deities are laid dead twice and brought to life again with the water chanted with the incantation by the guru who used to perform the dawo-khin. Finally, the masks die for the third time and then, they are carried to funeral procession which is accompanied by beating of naye khinsand blowing of kahas to the cremation site. Then the masks of all the deities, except Ganesh who does not die in the dance, are piled on the pyre and they are burned with a bundle of lighted reeds marking the end of the dramatic tantric dance.

The rath jatra (chariot festival) of Bagh Bhairab is celebrated on the first day of Bhadra that falls around the second week of English month of August. The local women and girls wearing new colorful clothes and carrying the sukunda lamps stands in front of the decorated chariot and behind it is the musical band. The chariot is carried on the human shoulders and pulled throughout the place accompanied by hymns, songs and musical instruments. The jatra ends after the round and people enjoy the bhoj followed by shows that presents the legend of origin and presence of this god as a guardian deity of Kirtipur.

Bhutan Devi Temple In Hetauda

Situated at Butan Devi Road-10 in Hetauda, the temple of Butan Devi is not only famous in Hetauda but all over Nepal. The temple is built is perfect Vastu principal and it is believed that worshipping the goddess helps one to get victory over serious troubles, problems and fear. Butan Devi actually is the form of goddess Durga who killed the great demon Mahishasura because of which she is also known by the name of Mahishasura Sardinia.

According to the legends, Mahishasura has terrorized all everyone, from humans to saints, even the gods could not defeat him. He had captured all the three worlds lost by the gods in the battle with him. The defeat was too much for the gods to take and the power of their anger took a form of a mountain that unified the power of all the three worlds and transformed into a woman, who then killed the demon in a battle that lasted for nine days and nights. The battle is now celebrated as the festival of Nauratha or Navaratri.

She is also known as the warrior avatar of goddess Durga, the Mother Shakti. She is the greatest form of power and courage. The temple houses a statue of the goddess killing Mahishasura, who is trying to transfer his Buffalo form back to Human. There are various other small temples of gods and goddesses like Radha-Krishna temple, Laxmi-Narayan temple, Shiva temple, Manakamana Devi temple, etc. inside the Bhutan Devi temple premises and it is said that she holds the power of all these gods and goddesses. Also many monkeys live around the temple area who would snatch away anything you carry if you are not careful enough.

People from all over Nepal come to visit this temple and seek for power and courage to overcome their troubles and fear. The temple is quiet and peaceful and being in the temple itself makes the person forget their problems.

Baglung Kalika Temple

Situated in the Baglung district in far western region in Nepal, the temple of Baglung Kali Bhagawati is one of the famous temples in Nepal. Also known as Kalika Bhagawati temple, it is one of the most religiously significant places located deep inside the dense forest just above the northern side of Kali Gandaki.

Kali is one of the most powerful and dangerous form of the Hindu goddess Durga and is often associated with the power, Shakti. Goddess Kali also means ‘the black one’. She is considered Kali, consort of Lord Shiva which also means time or death as Lord Shiva is often considered as ‘Kala‘, the eternal time. She is the prime goddess of the Dasa Mahavidyas, ten fierce goddesses of Tantra or the Tantric goddesses. Besides this, Kali is strongly associated with Shiva and Shaivas derive the masculine Kala (a form of Shiva) from her feminine name.

The temple of Baglung Kali was built by Pratap Narayan and was renovated in late 1990s. There are various other small temples like that of Lord Shiva, Radha Krishna, Laxmi Narayan, etc. inside the Baglung Bhagwati temple. Every year, thousands of religious pilgrims from all over the world come to visit the temple. Not only the normal Hindu devotees, but also Tantrics from all over the world come to the temple to get Siddhi (knowledge) on their field of interest. Also, marriage is conducted inside the temple with a belief that their married life will be blessed with every kind of happiness. During the festival of Navaratri/Nauratha, the temple is crowded with devotees coming from every corner of Nepal to celebrate the festival there. People also come here to perform puja to get victory over their enemies, win legal suits, win the heart of their beloved and protection from black magic.

It is said that the goddess fulfills the wishes of the devotees if they could please her. She is also known as Bhavatarini literally meaning ‘rescuer of the universe’.