Pashupatinath Area & Ambience Tour

Hindu’s greatest god Pashupatinath has group of gods and goddesses surrounding him which spreads in an area of about 3 square kilometers. The vibrant ambiance of the area never takes a break which is also the holiest Hindu pilgrimage site with smoky and stirring melee of temples, iconic ancient statues, the pilgrims and decorated half naked holy men called Shadus. On the footstep of temple is Bagmati River separating the Pashupatinath area into to 2. The riverbank also called Aryaghat by Hindu is considered the most sacred site for the dead bodies to be cremated. As per the legends this Ghat should never be left vacant without burning the bodies as Pashupatinath is naturally offered with the smoke from those dead bodies burning on Aryaghat. If in case there are no bodies to burn by any chance the representative form of the dead body must be made of dried Darbha Grass (Desmostachya bipinnata) which is considered holy grass in Hinduism typically called Kush and has to be continuously burnt.

Pashupatinath temple is the holiest pilgrimage site for the follower of Shiva or the main stream Hindus. The temple and the statue of 5 faced Shivlinga came to existence from divine phenomenon explained as; back in 11^th century the place is widely famous for tantric practices and when the Brahman were brought from India who were Bhatta then the formal rituals began here. The current physical structure of the temple dates back to 17^th century but the origin of this site as sacred place may date back to the third century BC. The legendary story tells that Shiva to be far from his heavenly obligations took the form of one horned stag and fled to the forest near Bagmati River, now Pashupatinath. Other god pursued him and took hold of him and be able to break his horn which was instantly transformed to divine Pashupati linga. The linga later on lost which was only rediscovered by a holy cow who magically began sprinkling the spot with her milk. She was noticed doing so by a cowherd then he dug up the linga and established the shrine.

Everyday aarti is offered to Pashupatinath in the dusk separately one inside the temple where limited visitors can stay and take avishekam. The one done outside the temple at the river bank of Bagmati is more vibrant as public gather and celebrate the function every evening. The respect to the dead is another concern we have to be careful while visiting the Pashupatinath as the family members remain around the body until is fully burnt and washed away into Bagmati River. The process of cremating the dead body is also equally attracting the attention of visitors.