Tripureshwar Mahadev Temple

One of the temples to be considered during this month of Sharawan would be Tripureshwor Mahadev., three Roof Temple (Pagoda Style) dedicated to Shiva, one of the most powerful gods of Hindu religion. Located at Tripureshwor along Teku – Thapathali road, the temple complex was constructed by Queen Lalita Tripura Sundari around 1875 B.S in the memory of her husband, King Rana Bahadur Shah for his eternal bliss and for the goodwill of her nation. It was probably the last major temple in the tiered style.

The Temple The main shrine is a three tiered structure at the center of the temple complex. The complex is founded on a Panchayan Plan, where Panchayan means worship of five Gods, Shiva taking the central position surrounded by four demi gods. The principal temple base is set on four decreasing brick platform and in the corners of the second platform are four small two-tiered temples. These subsidiary temples house the divinities, Ganesh, Vishnu, Surya, and Bhagwati representing Shiva’s special attendants. It is considered inauspicious to discriminate any one of them while carrying out any rituals.

The shrine consists of outer wall with triple doorway on all four sides, opening into a circumlocutory path enclosing the inner sacred sanctum with four single doorways in cardinal direction.

Another typical feature of the temple is its roof structure. The lowest tier which is also the largest is in mud tiles and supported by twenty-eight carved struts. Each strut describes the main characters from the Mahabharata epic. The upper two roofs in gilded copper sheets are supported by twenty struts on the second level, revealing the life of Lord Krishna and the topmost roof supported by twelve struts depicting the Matrika goddesses. The finial is crowned with five gilded metal pinnacle sheltered under decorative metal umbrella.