A note describing the Purāno Guhyeśvarī shrine and the area around it including a rest-house built by Kājī Narasiṃha Gurung (VS 1860)
ID: E_2811_0025
Edited by
Pradip Ghimire
in collaboration with
Manik Bajracharya and Rajan Khatiwoda
Created: 2024-02-11;
Last modified: 2024-06-17
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Abstract
This is a description of the Purāno Guhyeśvarī temple, which lies north of Kathmandu. The text mentions, among other things, an inscription there which records the donation by Kājī Narasiṃha Gurung in 1803 of a rest-house and a wall surrounding the temple grounds.Diplomatic edition
[1r]
1४३३ 1पुरानोगुह्येश्वरी2कान्तिपुरदेखिएककोसजतिउत्तरतर्फ
3अवस्थितबालाजुभन्दाअलिकउत्तरमाफुलबारी
4भन्नेठाउँमा‘पुरानोगुह्येश्वरी’नामकोएकधार्मिक
5स्थलछ।यहाँयौटावेदिकामाथिकलशकोस्थापना
6गरिएकोछरसोहीकलशरहनेगोलाकारछिद्रर
7सोहीकलशमापूजा-आजागरिन्छ।पशुपतिनेरको
8गुह्येश्वरीमाकोकलशरहनेछिद्रमाझैंयहाँकोमा
9केहीसमयअघिसम्मजलआउँथ्योतरहिजाज
10सुख्खारूपमाछ।
11पुरानोगुह्येश्वरीकोनामलेकहलिने
12उपर्युक्तपीठनेपालमैंपनित्यतिप्रसिध्दछैन
13तरथाहापाउनेहरूपशुपतिनेरकोगुह्येश्वरीपीठभन्दा
14यहाँकोपीठपुरानोहोभनीमान्दछन्।पुरानो
15गुह्येश्वरीनाममापनियोतथ्यझल्किनआउँछ।
16तरयसपीठकोप्राचीनतारऐतिहासिकपक्षथाहा
17पाउनेसामग्रीउपलब्धभएजस्तोलाग्दैन।सोही
18स्थलमापनिपुरानाऐतिहासिकसामग्रीकोअभाव
19रहेकोछ।हालसालैकाकेहीअभिलेखभनेयहाँरहेका
20छन्।यहाँपाइएकोसबभन्दापुरानोअभिलेख
21ई.१८०३कोहोजुनउतिखेरका
22प्रभावशालीप्रशासककाजीनरसिंहगुरूङलेसो
23पीठस्थलमापर्खालरधर्मशालाबनाएकोसम्झना
24लेखिएकोछ।१1
25उपर्युक्तशिलालेखरत्यसपछिका
26[...]अरुस्मृतिलेखहरूलेयसपीठस्थल
27लाईकेरुपमामानिन्छभन्नेतथ्यभनेथाहा
28पाउनसकिन्छ।उपर्युक्तई.१८०३कोशिलालेख
29संस्कृतभागमा‘गुह्येश्वरी’रनेपालीभागमा
30‘श्री३गुह्येश्वरी’मात्रभनिएकोछ।यस
31पीठकोहालप्रचलित‘पुरानो’विशेषणयुक्त
32नामउक्तशिलालेखमानभएको
33_________________________________________
34१.अभिलेखसंग्रह, भाग–१२. २०२०. पृ. ८.2
Synopsis
The description provided in this document concerns the religious site known as Purāno Guhyeśvarī (lit. Old Guhyeśvarī), situated in the Phulabārī locality not far north of Bālāju. The text notes that in addition to several recent inscriptions existing at the site, there is an older one in both Sanskrit and Nepali dating back to 1803 (VS 1860) that was installed by KājīNarasiṃha Gurung, an influential administrator of the time. That inscription mentions the construction of a rest-house (dharmaśālā) and a wall around the temple grounds. The writer of the present document states that the main shrine of the temple used to have a water source that flowed out through a hole in an altar pitcher the same way a similar one used to do at the Guhyeśvarī temple in Paśupatinātha, and that the designation of the place as Purāno Guhyeśvarī does not occur in any of the inscriptions.
Commentary
Bālāju Guhyeśvarī (i.e., Purāno Guhyeśvarī) is a Newar Yoginī temple located in present-day Tārakeśvara Municipality (former Nepaltar Village Development Committee). Within the temple premises are statues of various statues including Gaṇeśa, Kumāra, Sūrya and the Buddha. They all encircle, beneath a large pīpala tree, an idol of the enshrined goddess Guhyeśvarī. This text does not mention the individual who composed this description, nor is it dated, but the mention of a volume of Abhilekha saṅgraha published in VS 2020 (1963 CE) provides a terminus a quo.