01Manadeva’s pillar
Beside the temple stands a stone pillar, once crowned by a Garuda, carrying the inscription of Manadeva I dated Samvat 386, which is 464 CE. In plain Sanskrit verse it tells how the king’s father Dharmadeva died and his mother Rajyavati wished to follow him on the pyre, and how Manadeva begged her to live, then marched east and west to subdue rebellious chiefs. It is the earliest securely dated document in Nepal’s history and the starting point for Licchavi chronology.
02Stone of the Licchavis
The courtyard is a museum of early Nepali sculpture. A Licchavi relief shows Vishnu as Trivikrama taking his three strides, and another shows him riding Garuda, the image printed on Nepal’s ten-rupee note. A kneeling Garuda with folded hands faces the door, said to portray Manadeva. The two-tiered pagoda itself was rebuilt after a fire, around 1702, and its roof struts carry the many forms of Vishnu. The earthquake of 25 April 2015 badly damaged the temple and the houses of the village around it, and it has since been repaired.
The life of this place
- 464 CE (Samvat 386)Manadeva I sets up the inscribed Garuda pillar.
- c. 1702The temple is rebuilt after a fire.
- 1979Inscribed as part of the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 25 April 2015The Gorkha earthquake damages the temple and village.
About 22 km east of Kathmandu, a short drive or a two-hour walk from Bhaktapur. Look for the Manadeva pillar at the east door.
