Editing Kathmandu (section)

=== Pashupatinath temple ===
{{Main|Pashupatinath Temple}}

[[File:Pashupati dec 20 2009.jpg|thumb|centre|Panorama of the Pashupatinath Temple from the other bank of Bagmati river|633x633px|alt=]]
[[File:Pashupatinath Temple-2020.jpg|thumb|229x229px|Pashupatinath temple is dedicated to [[Shiva]] as the 'lord of all being']]
The Pashupatinath Temple ({{Langx|ne|पशुपतिनाथ मन्दिर}}) is a famous 5th century [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to [[Shiva]]. Located on the banks of the [[Bagmati River]], the Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu.<ref name="SAARC Tourism">{{cite web |url=http://nepal.saarctourism.org/pashupatinath-temple.html |title=SAARC tourism |work=Nepal.saarctourism.org |access-date=4 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722213803/http://nepal.saarctourism.org/pashupatinath-temple.html |archive-date=22 July 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> It served as the seat of national deity, [[Shree Pashupatinath|Pashupatinath]], until Nepal was secularized. However, a significant part of the temple was destroyed by [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] invaders in the 14th century and little or nothing remains of the original 5th-century temple exterior. The temple as it stands today was built in the 19th century, although the image of the bull and the black four-headed image of Pashupati are at least 300 years old.<ref name="Lonely Planet (2006)">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/nepal00brad |url-access=registration |title=Nepal |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2006 |page=[https://archive.org/details/nepal00brad/page/166 166] |isbn=978-1-74059-699-2 |first1=Bradley |last1=Mayhew |first2=Joe |last2=Bindloss |first3=Stan |last3=Armington}}</ref> The temple is a [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref name="Lonely Planet (2006)" /><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://nepal.saarctourism.org/pashupatinath-temple.html |title=SAARC tourism |work=Nepal.saarctourism.org |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722213803/http://nepal.saarctourism.org/pashupatinath-temple.html |archive-date=22 July 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Maha Shivaratri|Shivaratri]], or the night of Shiva, is the most important festival that takes place here, attracting thousands of devotees and [[sadhu]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=PTI |title=About 10 lakh visitors expected to throng Pashupatinath temple on Maha Shivratri |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/about-10-lakh-visitors-expected-to-throng-pashupatinath-temple-on-maha-shivratri-2928017 |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Deccan Herald |language=en}}</ref>

Believers in Pashupatinath (mainly [[Hinduism|Hindus]]) are allowed to enter the temple premises, but non-Hindu visitors are allowed to view the temple only from the across the Bagmati River.<ref name="Lonely Planet (2006)" /> The priests who perform the services at this temple have been [[Brahmin]]s from [[Karnataka]] in [[South India|southern India]] since the time of Malla king [[Yaksha Malla]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/Nepal/Kathmandu-Valley/Pashupatinath-Temple.htm |title=Spiritual guides |website=Vegetarian-restaurants.net |date=1 January 2006 |access-date=4 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612020258/http://vegetarian-restaurants.net/Nepal/Kathmandu-Valley/Pashupatinath-Temple.htm |archive-date=12 June 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> This tradition is believed to have been started at the request of [[Adi Shankara]] who sought to unify the states of [[Names for India|Bhāratam]], a region in south Asia believed to be ruled by a mythological king [[Bharata (Mahabharata)|Bharata]], by encouraging cultural exchange. This procedure is followed in other temples around India, which were sanctified by Adi Shankara.

The temple is built in the [[pagoda]] style of architecture, with cubic constructions and carved wooden rafters (tundal) on which they rest, and two-level roofs made of copper and gold.