Kathmandu: The Bhubaneswar Mahadev Temple area in Makwanpur district Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-4, which gives a glimpse of Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, has been developed as a major religious tourist pilgrimage site.
Built in the same style as the Pashupatinath temple, the temple premises with an area of 10 katha and seven dhur, houses idols of Navagraha, Hanuman, Saraswati and other gods and goddesses and also has a guest house.
Pawan Ghimire, the priest of the temple, informed that the temple, which was built in 2042 BS, has the same rituals and traditions as Pashupatinath. According to him, an arrangement has been made for the pilgrims to worship in the temple from the outside of the main entrance without reaching the idol inside as in Pashupati.
Stating that devotees come to the temple every day, he informed that more than 20,000 devotees come in a single day on special dates and festivals including Shivratri.
Keeping in view the safety of the devotees, the previous system of lighting lamps and incense on the porch of the original temple has been changed and arranged in the west-south part of the temple.
For the convenience of the devotees on special festival days, arrangements have been made to keep the west door open for entering the temple and the east door for exiting. In the case of other days, the east door is opened only as needed.
Although the temple will be open on special festival days, it will be open from 5.00 am to 10.00 am and from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm in the months of November, January and January. Apart from these three months, arrangements have been made to open from 4:00 am to 10:00 pm and from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm in other months.
Since the offerings collected from the devotees and the rent of the shutters in the temple premises are the main source of sustainable operation here, service charges have been fixed for the use of the premises along with special pujas.
Under the structure and infrastructure use of the temple premises, the committee has determined a fee of Rs 500 for open square (east and south), Bhajan Kirtan Hall Rs 1000, Yagya Mandap Rs 10500, other small sticks Rs 500, Special Pooja and Lagu Rudri Rs 2111, lighting of lakh batti, Pasni and Swayamvar Rs 1111.
In order to organize the temple premises, the Bhubaneswar Service Committee has put up various 11-point civil charters since 2068 BS.
Chairman of the committee Jagannath Pandey said that accommodation has been arranged with the aim of providing support to the visitors coming from far away through the development of physical infrastructure. He informed that Rs. 200 per person will be charged for cleaning the bed for the pilgrims who want to stay.
Chairman Pandey informed that support of Rs.20 lakhs for the construction of the building and Rs.10 lakhs for the management of bed expansion including Rs.30 lakhs have been received from Bagmati State Government.
Every Monday, Friday, Saturday as well as on Ekadashi, special hymns are performed in the temple premises. Adviser Hari Rizal informed that as a large number of pilgrims gather in the premises where bhajankirtan is performed, there is a need for some extra chairs at that place.
Local residents say that the Pashupati Sadan, which was established in the temple premises in 2074 BS, was built by the local people at that time.
Ram Chandra Pandey said that some of the rooms in this building have received support from individuals as well as municipalities. “Due to infrastructure development, Bhubaneswar Mahadev (Pashupati) temple has developed as an important religious destination in this area”, he said. “This place which was like a den of addicts in the past has now developed as an important shrine.”
Nepal Telecom is managing free Wi-Fi for convenient facilities including internet in the temple premises. He says that Bhubaneswar Mahadev Temple, which is located in the middle of the growing number of houses in Hetauda, is not only a center of religious faith but also a center of spiritual awakening with increasing marketization.
Patanjali yoga and life science classes are conducted in the temple every day from 4:30 am to 6:00 am.
(RSS)
