Taleju

King Mahendra Malla, a king whose name is written in golden letter for his deep concern for the people as he never ate his food unless he was convinced that the citizens had their meal, had the huge temple of Taleju constructed in 684 Nepal Sambat (1620 B.S.) Located in Trishul Chowk inside Hanumandhoka palace. The temple is constructed over eight layers of footpath & has three roofs. The elevation of this temple is greater than the other parts of Hanumandhoka. Outside the wall there are 12 small shrines with two roofs each in the Nepalese design. Inside the wall there are 4 such shrines. Each shrine has a pinnacle and has an image of one god or goddess installed. The main entrance of the temple faces south & there are big stone sculptures of animals & men act as guard. On the last footpath, there are big bell on each side of the main entrance, offered by Pratap Malla in 1654 A.D. & Bhaskar Malla in 1714 A.D. The bells are rung when Taleju is worshiped. The Malla kings started their daily activities only after paying homage to Goddess Taleju. The temple is open for the general public only on the day before bada Dashain.