Budhanilkantha Temple

Budhanilkantha literally means Old blue throat. This Temple is located at the base of Shivapuri Hill of Kathmandu. It is often called as Narayanthan Temple. It is a deity of Lord Bishnu. The idol itself is about five meters lying in the bed of snakes. His four hands hold the four symbols of Vishnu, the Shankha as conch shell, Chakra as disc,Gadha as club and Padma as lotus flower.

It was built somewhere in the 7th or 8th century from one monolithic piece of black stone.Legend reveals that in ancient time, some farmers while plowing the land struck the Deity. Immediately afterwards blood began to flow from the ground and thus the lost deity of Budhanilkantha was recovered and placed in its rightful position. It is believed that Pratap Malla had a divine vision, which resulted in his fear that if the King of Nepal visited the Budhanilkantha temple, death would be about to happen upon his departure so until now, no kings has ever visited this temple.

Many devotees visit this temple throughout the year especially during Haribodhini Ekadashi. There are other many idols of Gods and Goddesses like Ganesh, Garuda, Shivalinga , Saraswoti etc around this area.