Goddess Palanchowk Bhagawati

From Rising Nepal

(Image: A depiction of Bhagawati, not the Bhagawati from Palanchowk. This goddess, sitting on a lion, possibly reflects Greek artistic influences from the areas settled by soldiers from Alexander the Great's army, the influence of which was incorporated into the great artistic tradition of modern-day Pakistan and northwestern India. Bhagawati is also often depicted seated on a tiger.)

Goddess Palanchowk Bhagawati [ 2007-11-23 ]
Bishowa Nath Kharel

Nepal is a land of beauty. There are countless beautiful places in Nepal, which is really gifted by God. One of these places is Kavre Palanchowk. It is a 55 km three hour drive from Katmandu to Palanchowk Bhagawati temple on the Arniko Highway. This noted historic temple of Goddess Bhagawati is located at a hilltop some 10-km north of Panchkhal. One can really enjoy the panoramic view of the landscape all around. On Saturdays and Tuesdays many worshippers come to this temple from the different places of Nepal. It is said that Palanchowk Bhagawati, Naxal Bhagawati and Shobha Bhagawati are sisters and Palanchowk Bhagawati is the eldest among them.

This temple is said to have been constructed during the reign of Man Deva, a famous Lichhavi king. The temple houses a three feet high idol of Goddess Bhagawati (Kali) artistically carved in black stone, which is so attractive and rich in art and craft. In the middle ages, the seven areas Banepa, Panauti, Nala, Dhulikhel, Khadpu, Chaukot and Sanga comprised a political unit. Now all these places lie in Kavre Palanch district.

There is a story about how this temple lies here. One day the people of Buchakot dreamt that Goddess Bhagawati told them to take her to the north. Then the local people of Buchakot took her to the north with great respect. On the way, they had to rest at the present Palanchowk Bhagawati site. The next day they tried to pick the idol up it but they were unable to lift it off the place. Then, the temple was built there.

On full moon day and Dasain or Durga Puja, there is the festival in Palanchowk Bhagawati. A Bajrachaya member of Mokha Tole of Kathmandu has been the priest of Palanchowk Bhagawati from ancient days. It is believed that the face of the Goddess sweats whenever there is going to be some unprecedented event in the country. On Bhadra 5, 2045 B.S. sweat was observed right before the earthquake. Earlier in 2029 B.S., before the army plane crash near Dhulikhel, sweat was seen on the face. It is the responsibility of the government and the nation to preserve and develop such historical and religious places.

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About the Goddess Bhagawati (a/k/a Kali):

Westerners are perhaps most familiar with Kali from her depiction as a bloodthirsty goddess to whom people were sacrificed and children were enslaved in the Indiana Jones movie "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But the goddess is not so limited. As we’ve learned during the recently concluded celebrations of Kali Durga, this goddess has at least ten different aspects (one aspect for each day of the Kali Durga or Puja Durga celebrations, many of them beneficial and benign. Things get yet more complicated, because Bhagawati is one of the forms of Devi or Shakti, created out of the fiery breaths of the gods Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva to slay the buffalo-demon Mahisasura, whom they were unable to overcome. She is usually depicted riding a lion or tiger, each of her multiple arms bearing a weapon.

Bhagawati shares in common with other primeval goddesses a trinity of essential aspects of virgin-bride, mother-creator, and crone-witch. What the Mother creates she may also choose to destroy – a reflection of the harsh realities of living in a world where "Mother Nature" was often seen as cruel and heartless, and where she yet reigns supreme today. Don’t believe me? Just reflect for a few moments upon the 2004 tsunami that killed a quarter of a million people, the massive destruction and untold suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina; and the problems being caused by the prolonged drought in parts of the southwestern and southeastern United States, Africa and Australia. It is not Kali’s fault that mankind, in its ignorance and arrogance, has attempted to "appease" the goddess through human sacrifice; and, keep in mind, Kali is certainly not the only goddess to whom lives were sacrificed. This kind of practice demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of the fundamental nature of the goddess.

Whenever someone writes that a goddess "demanded" human sacrifice – don’t believe them without doing further research; chances are they are either misogynists or are "born-again" zealous reformist types dedicated to a patriarchal god - or they have been seduced by the seeming "logic" of such beliefs. Both types of goddess bashers have been quite successful in rewriting the history of the goddess over the past 2000 years!