01A king’s dream in stone
Siddhi Narasimha Malla of Patan was a devout Vaishnava who, the city’s tradition says, saw Krishna and Radha standing before the palace in a dream and built the temple on the spot. In a valley of brick and timber pagodas he chose the North Indian shikhara, all in stone. The ground floor holds Krishna; the floor above is a shrine of Shiva, and the top storey of Lokeshvara. Round the first storey runs a frieze of the Mahabharata, round the second one of the Ramayana, each panel labelled in old Newari so the people could read the katha as they walked.
02Janmashtami at Patan
On Krishna Janmashtami the square fills from evening, and women sing bhajans through the night on the temple steps while oil lamps burn on every ledge. Across from the temple, a stone pillar carries Garuda kneeling with folded hands, facing his Lord. The 2015 earthquake cracked the upper pavilions; the temple was restored and reopened in 2018. It is part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1979.
The life of this place
- 1637Siddhi Narasimha Malla completes the temple.
- 1979Patan Durbar Square is inscribed with the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site.
- April 2015The Gorkha earthquake damages the temple.
- 2018The restored temple reopens.
Patan Durbar Square, south of Kathmandu across the Bagmati. Only Hindus may enter the sanctum; the friezes can be seen from the plinth.
