| Bhaktapur,
literally meaning "The Town of Devotees," is believed
to have existed from the early ninth century AD. The town area
covers four square miles and divided into twenty-four toles,
sections. Bhaktapur was the capital of the Kathmandu Valley
from the twelfth century to the fourteenth century and then
an independent kingdom until 1769, when the Shahs invaded. The
Durbar Square is the central setting of Bhaktapur for architectural
monuments and the arts. The Durbar Square is believed to have
been established no earlier that the mid-twelfth century when
Ananda Malla built Tripura, the name for the palace that was
used until the sixteenth century. It is asserted in different
archives that this Bhaktapur Palace was the most costly and
largest of all the palaces in the country. It had ninety-nine
courtyards and spread from the gateway to the Durbar Square
in the West and to Sukul Dhoka in the East. The Mul Chowk, the
main courtyard inside the palace, is dedicated to the mother
goddess, Taleju, the clan deity of the Malla Kings. Most probably
the Taleju Temple, adjoining the Mul Chowk at its south end,
is the oldest standing monument of the Bhaktapur Durbar Square.
However, there is no documented inscription directly mentioning
the existence of the Mul Chowk until the seventeenth century.
Yakseswar Mahadev, a temple built as a duplicate of Pashupati
is another of the oldest monuments in the Durbar Square. This
temple situated at the South end of the Durbar Square is believed
to have been erected by Yaksha Malla (ruled 1428-1482).
There
are significant records of the donors, constructions, and
renovations of the complexes inside the Durbar Square since
1614. According to the archives, the last three kings of Bhaktpaur,
Jitamitra Malla, Bhupatindra Malla, and Ranajit Malla, played
the chief roles in shaping the present Durbar Square. During
his twenty-three years as king starting in 1673, Jitamitra,
influenced by the arts, made many extensive changes to the
Durbar Square. He renovated Eta (Kumari) Chowk, a chowk adjoining
Mul Chowk, and decorated the walls with carved windows and
paintings of yoginis and scenes from the Ramayana, the god
versus hero epic drama in which Taleju plays a large part.
A year later, he added another palace wing, the Thanbu Durbar,
northeast of the Mul Chowk. He designed fountains, gardens,
and a pavilion for the new wing. In 1696, shortly before his
demise, he built a sikhara temple of Siddhilaxmi next to the
temple of Vatsaladevi. A rare feature added to the temple
was the animal sculptures standing on either side of the steps
to the temple.
After
his death, his son, Bhupatindra Malla, continued to make additions
to the Durbar Square. He reconstructed the Malati Chowk, the
Fifty-Five Window Palace that was another wing built in his
time. This palace has fifty-five wooden windows on its upper
floor. The gate made of bricks and plaster, which is presently
the main entrance to the Durbar Square, was also built by
him. These gates were actually the entrance to the Basantapur
Palace, of which nothing remains except the lions guarding
the then gate and images of Ugrachandi and Bhairava. Both
of the latter sculptures are dated 1707. Legend says that
Bhupatindra Malla was so impressed by these two sculptures
that he cut off both the hands of the sculptor, fearing that
other kingdoms may exploit the man to sculpt other beautiful
carvings outside of Bhaktapur. Bhupatindra Malla also built
four modest monuments: the temples of Jagannatha and Rameswar,
a sikhara style brick temple Kedarnath, and a two-storied
pagoda style temple of Badrinath near the gate of the Durbar
Square. Collectively, they are the char dhaam, four holy sites
for Hindu pilgrims, though they are substitutes for the real
char dhaam found in today's India. The most significant donation
of Bhupatindra Malla in the architectural field is the two
temples at Taumadhi Tole, an extension of the Durbar Square.
Others were built under his rule as well. The three storied
rectangular temple of Bhairava, the wrathful form of Lord
Shiva, was enlarged from its single story, when reconstructed
in 1717. There are seven golden gajurs, spires on its topmost
roof. Next to it is Nyatapola, the five storied temple, made
in 1702, is unique. It has five slanting roofs supported by
one hundred eight struts and standing on five plinths. The
steep flight of steps rising to the entrance of the temple
is flanked on either side by sculptures of wrestlers, elephants,
lions, griffins, and sculptures of the deities Simhini and
Vyangini. These guardians are arranged in order of their powers;
the one above is said to have ten times more strength that
the one below. So the goddess Siddhi Laxmi, to whom the temple
is believed to been dedicated, has ten times more power than
the two deities on the topmost level of the stairs. Maybe
it was this power that aided the 100 feet high temple to stand
through the devastating earthquake in 1934. Only the topmost
roof of the temple was destroyed.
After
Bhupatindra's death in 1722, his successor Ranajit Malla ruled
the kingdom for forty-seven years. Ranajit also showed great
interest in the arts and donated for the promotion of the
Durbar Square. He replaced the bell offered by his grandfather
to Taleju with a larger one. This bell and the copper drums,
Jitamitra had donated to the Taleju Temple, were sounded twice
daily in worship to the goddess. West of the big bell is a
stone pillar standing on a lotus pedestal. At the top of the
pillar is a golden statue of Bhupatindra Malla under the shade
of Chudamani, a golden umbrella, in a praying position and
facing the Taleju Temple. The golden gate at the entrance
to the main palace and also to the Taleju Temple, Ranajit
Malla's greatest offers to the goddess Taleju came in 1753.
The gate is decorated with the images of Kalash and other
deities at both sides and a detailed sculpture of Taleju,
above the gate looking at those entering the gate. The flags,
spires, umbrellas, elephants, and lions at the roof of the
gate also add to its notability. About this time he also added
the chikka appa, bricks immersed in oil for strength and shine,
to the passage leading to Mul Chowk.
It
took more than three generations of kings to build the Bhaktapur
Durbar Square. Most was damaged and destroyed during the earthquake
of 1934. Almost all the palaces and temples in the Valley
went through extensive renovation immediately following the
earthquake. However, the massive restoration left the place
deprived of its seventeenth century antiquity. As seen today,
only half a dozen courtyards remain around the Mul Chowk.
Nonetheless, this chowk is only open to Hindus and Buddhists.
Malati Chowk was again renovated in the nineteenth century
and does not feature much of traditional Malla arts anymore.
Fortunately, only the upper floors of the Fifty-Five Window
Palace were destroyed in 1934. Its lower floors along with
the successive murals of Lord Krishna in scrolls like manner
remained intact. These paintings are now on public display.
The West wing of the palace towards the entrance to the Durbar
Square, known as the Chowkot Palace constructed in the early
sixteenth century by Jaga Jyoti Malla, has been transformed
into a national arts gallery. An eight sided pavilion of Chasalin
Mandap, stands in front of the Fifty-Five Window Palace. It
was originally made by Yaksha Malla in remembrance of his
queen, but has been recently reconstructed after its destruction
the earthquake. With windows that open in all directions,
the Chasalin Mandap, offers a prime view of the Durbar Square.
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