Baglamukhi

"Bagalamukhi" is derived from "Bagala" (distortion of the original Sanskrit root "valgā") and "mukha", meaning "bridle" and "face", respectively. Thus, the name means one whose face has the power to capture or control. She thus represents the hypnotic power of the Goddess.

One of the famous temples of Devi in Kathmandu, the temple of Baglamukhi is situated in Patan (Lalitpur). There are various other small temples inside the Baglamukhi temple premises and this temple is specially crowded on Thursdays as it is considered as the day of Bhagwati.

According to the legend, a demon named Bagala had tortured and threatened the lives of the people. The people worshiped and prayed to the goddess Baglamukhi who, pleased by their prayers, came to their rescue and killed the demon. Hence, the people built the temple as a tribute to the goddess and used to call it Bagala. Later, the name of the temple was changed to Baglamukhi. The temple is ruled by the planet Jupiter and Thursday is considered as the special day for worshiping at the temple.

It is also said that worshiping here silences the gossip of the people (enemy). She is also considered as Bhairavi, a type of Matrika Devi, the mother of all speech as she puts an end to the evil gossips that comes out of every speech

The devotees often burn three Agarbatti (incense sticks) or ghee Pala Batti (butter lamps) that they can buy outside and around the temple’s main entrance gate. Yellow color or purple color clothes and flowers are offered to please the goddess as those two are considered to be her favorite color. Some people also wear these color clothes while they perform puja in the temple. Although the main temple of the goddess is small, the temple premises is very wide and open and it houses various small temples of other gods and goddesses like Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesh, goddess Manakamana, etc. A big temple of LordShiva is situated in front of the Baglamukhi temple. Also, there is one pond each, inside and outside of the temple both of which has stone taps. It is one of the most popular Hindu temples in Patan where maximum devotees visit every Thursday for the success of their personal as well as professional lives.