THE FOUR NARAYANS OF THE KATHMANDU VALLEY:
A RELIGIOUS & CULTURAL JIGSAW PUZZLE
Stranded in Nepal by the global COVID 19 lockdown of 2020, something that will become the stuff of legends in years to come, I eventually moved from downtown, touristic Thamel to Budhanilkantha, literally at the end of the road north from central Kathmandu. For me, at least, lockdown had the effect of refining the focus of my mind: at first unable to travel due to restrictions, and subsequently unwilling to do so out of caution once these had been lifted, my literal and metaphorical objectives became centered on the things and places in my immediate vicinity.
For most people, Budhanilkantha is synonymous with the Hindu mandir of Narayanthan — or more correctly Narayansthan. I had been there several times before as a casual visitor but living on the slopes above the town centre now made me want to learn more — about the temple, its etymology and cultural significance. Why, for one thing, was a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu known as Narayanthan? That was easily answered: Narayan or ‘Narayana’ is formed from two Sanskrit elements: ‘Nara’ ( नार) meaning both ‘water’ and ‘man’; and ‘yana’ (यान) meaning ‘vehicle’, ‘vessel’, or more generally ‘home’. Together they form the ancient Vedic name for the incarnation of Vishnu as Narayan, ‘the one who rests on water’ And ‘than’ or more properly ‘sthan’ prosaically means “place” but with the more poetical connotation of “abode of abundance”: it is semantically linked to the final element in all the Central Asian countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as Pakistan. So Narayanthan denoted none other than the abode of Lord Vishnu.
As is so often the case, the answer to one question led to the posing of others. I started to come across initially puzzling references to the “Char Narayan” or “Four Narayans” of the Kathmandu Valley. Also referred to as the Four Cardinal Vishnu Temples, it appeared that in ancient times, desiring Kathmandu to prosper, the rulers ordered the positioning of Vishnu/Narayan shrines at all four cardinal points from which the god could watch and protect the valley and its inhabitants. Some scholars claim that the mandirs were founded in the seventh century on the orders of Vishnu Gupta, who controlled the Kathmandu Valley under the Licchavi king Bhimarjuna Dev. Licchavi kings being regarded as reincarnations of Vishnu/Narayan, there is a historical basis as well as rationale for this, although it may be merely fanciful to imagine that Vishnu Gupta was intent on perpetuating his own name through the foundation of these four temples. Others, agreeing that the Four Narayans were founded as a unified concept, put the date several centuries earlier and under a different Licchavi king — Haridutta Varma (with many spelling variants).
So this is the Four Narayans jigsaw puzzle as I have been able piece everything together so far, still with some gaps, a few ill-fitting pieces, but in spite of everything forming a vivid and intriguing picture overall.
The Four Narayans as they exist today are diverse in appearance and atmosphere in spite of their unified origins and religious significance. There is general — but not total — consensus as to which temples constitute the four and their cardinal positioning. Ichangu Narayan, the Narayan of the West; Changu Narayan, the Narayan of the East; Bishanku Narayan, the Narayan of the North; and Shesh Narayan, the Narayan of the South form the normal ‘tetralogy’. However, some errant commentators replace Shesh Narayan with the Budhanilkatha Narayanthan; while to equate Bishanku Narayan with ‘the north’ is seemingly bizarre given its location on the southern edge of the Valley. Maybe the ‘cardinal points’ had some other spiritual rather than geographical significance at the time they were founded.
Undoubtedly the most well-known of all the Four Narayans is Changu Narayan, one of the listed UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley. Situated at the end of an east-west running ridge over a hundred meters above the Valley floor, through the ages the site was known by various names, including Champak Narayan, until finally becoming renowned as Changu Narayan from the medieval period onwards.
The legend goes that Vishnu, in the midst of a fight with a demon, accidentally slew a Brahmin. The Brahmin’s guru was outraged and cursed Vishnu that he himself would be slain by a Brahmin. Vishnu was condemned to live in the trunk of one of the champak trees that grew on the nearby slopes, drinking in secret the milk of a grazing cow belonging to a local Brahmin. Curious and more than a little angry as to why his cow yielded less milk than before and hearing reports from the cowherd of a small black figure drinking the milk near a certain tree, the Brahmin took an axe to the champak tree, at one and the same time beheading Vishnu in fulfillment of the prophecy and also freeing him from the curse.
Changu Narayan, regarded by many as the most important temple in the Kathmandu Valley, is an acknowledged treasure house of statues, inscriptions and paraphernalia and a major attraction for tourists and pilgrims alike.
Similarly named but totally dissimilar in terms of renown and location is the Narayan of the West, Ichangu Narayan, situated in a quiet valley just a few kilometers to the west of the Swayambhu junction on the heavily polluted and congested Ring Road. Within minutes of the turn off a different world is entered, with quaint unpaved lanes and houses on the southern slope of Nagarjun, part of the Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park. A seller of puja offerings in front of the mandir confidently told me that Ichangu Narayan was the youngest of the Four Narayans, Changu Narayan being the most ancient., debunking in one pithy sentence the idea of their being founded at one and the same time… or could it just be that she was referring to the existing structure rather than the actual foundation? Indeed, the little information available in the public domain supports that Ichangu Narayan originated in the 5th century, fitting in with the Haridutta Varma theory, but that the current structure largely dates from much later, the twelfth century. A particularly popular pilgrimage site during the highly auspicious full moon day in August, Shrawan Purnima, unlike its Changu Narayan counterpart, the temple is small and unpretentious, intimately attractive as it nestles in its small valley.
Shesh Narayan (or Shikhaar Narayan) Temple, is situated on a shady bend in the road to Pharping, not long after the turn-off to Dollu, both places of great significance in Vajrayana Buddhism: indeed Shesh Narayan shares its site with Rigzin Drubte Ghatshal Gompa, the oldest lamasery in the district. The gompa is unobtrusive and almost invisible in the shadow of the cliff against which it was constructed and yet closer inspection reveals what a special and unique place it is and why, it is believed, Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) himself mediated in a small cave there, leaving the imprint of his head on the roof of the cave. .
The name of this ‘Narayan of the South’ derives from ‘Shesh’ or ‘Shesha naga’, the naga raja (king naga) or ‘adhi naga’, the primordial snake god who guards Narayan/Vishnu. On a cliff is a self-manifesting image of the naga, with the distinctive ‘hood’ formed by its multiple heads clearly visible. Just below the naga is a cluster of limestone stalactites which are the subject of legend. Believed to be the udder of a cow, locals relate how once upon a time milk dripped from these teats.
And yet another legend…. In days gone by a pandit at Shesh Narayan grew too old and frail to be able to walk down to the Bagmati River for water. He prayed to the gods to help him and miraculously a spring appeared. However the flow of water was so great that very soon it formed a river between the pandit’s dwelling and the mandir. A pair of nagas, witnessing and pitying his plight, stretched themselves across the river to form a bridge. From that time on, the local people commemorate the compassion of the nagas by selecting a forked tree branch each year and casting it into the largest of the temple’s ponds, Basuki Kund, where it is left to gather moss and slowly disintegrate.
The final and very much the ‘odd one out’ of the Kathmandu Valley’s Four Narayans is Bishanku Narayan, the oddly termed Narayan of the North, also stated to have been built by Haridutta Varma but at a conflicting much earlier date (43–143 AD). Situated on the slopes of Kotdada near Bandegaun, Godawari, here the object of worship is an indistinct small ‘self-manifesting’ image in a modest natural grotto protected by a wire grill. Only pandits are allowed to unlock the grill, while a hand-sized ‘hole’ allows devotees to throw money or other offerings inside. The legend goes that Shiva had rather unadvisedly given Bhasmasura — literally ‘ash demon’ — the power to turn anybody into ashes by touching the top of their head with his hand. Bhasmasura arrogantly decided to test this power on Shiva himself, who in panic turned to Vishnu for assistance. Vishnu took the form of his only female avatar, Mohini who enticed Bhasmasura to fall in love with her. She agreed to marry him only if he could exactly replicate her dance movements and thus he was tricked into placing his hand on his own head. Bhasmasura turned into ash immediately and the resulting nearby hillock represents his remains.
Another oddity of Bishanku Narayan: immediately adjacent to the shrine is a narrow cleft in the rock: those guilty of the sins of gluttony or pride are said to be unable to squeeze through it. While most do this with ease, including myself, I also witnessed one man, physically capable of completing the task, who adamantly proclaimed that he could not, refusing to even try. Maybe the subconscious — and hence spiritual — element is all-powerful and ultimately the key factor to success or otherwise.
In times past and even in the present day, devout Nepalis were expected or impelled to visit all of the Four Narayans on Haribodhini Ekadashi, the day devoted to Vishnu just as Shivaratri pays homage to Shiva. On this day Vishnu is believed to wake from his four-month slumber, commencing on Shrawan Purnima and lasting throughout Chaturmas, in order to preside over religious ceremonies across the universe. The festival normally falls in the Nepali month of Mangsir (November in the Gregorian calendar) after Dashain and Tihar are over, when the weather is starting to chill and the landscape turn golden. For those unable to visit all four temples in a single day due to their geographic spread, a convenient alternative was made available: a one-off visit to the Char Narayan Mandir in Mangal Bazaar, Old Patan, next to the Krishna Mandir. Normally the temple is open only in the mornings but on Haribodhini Ekadashi it remains open late until the evening.
And so finally back home, back to Budhanilkantha’s Narayanthan, because this also is a focal point for devotees on Haribodhini Ekadashi. More easily accessible than Bishanku Narayan and Ichangu Narayan; more brashly imposing than Shesh Narayan; Changu Narayan is its only rival for renown. But Narayanthan has its own story, unique and yet intertwined with those of the Four Narayans, as it was none other than Vishnu Gupta who was responsible for the creation and siting of the 5 meter sculpture of the Sleeping Vishnu here. Often claimed to be the most important and impressive stone carving in the whole of Nepal, the sacred statue was fashioned from a single block of black basalt in the mid-7th century and reputedly brought to Budhanilkantha on Vishnu Gupta’s command from Bhringareswor, near Bungmati. Resting — or miraculously ‘floating’ — in a 13 meter stone pond, it depicts Narayan in a supine position, holding the symbols of his divine nature in his four hands: chakra (mind); conch shell (the four elements); lotus (the moving universe) and club (primeval knowledge), buoyed by the shesh naga, its hood spread protectively. The statue, adorned with shining accouterments and bedecked with marigolds, is lovingly tended each day by the temple’s young trainee pandits.
The Four Narayans… Char Narayan Mandir… Narayanthan… They have taken me on journeys riding pillion on a motorbike, often along bumpy, dusty roads, and through lists of entries on the internet. Like all of life’s best journeys it is still not completed. I want to return to all of the Narayans in the light of what I now know, to look for more detail, to talk to the pandits there, to learn more… and more… and still more.
“Om Namo Narayanaya”.
