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Punam Phuyal
Patan durbar square is an ancient palace located in the south of Bagmati river, Kathmandu. It is a historical monument of the oldest city Patan where the settlement of life is found to be inscripted around the 7th century. It is believed that there must be existence of life before 7 century BC during Kirat period. There are some stone weapons collected from Lubhu , a small town of lalitpur which signifies that the civilization was active from Neolithic period.
Once upon a time there was an ugly grass cutter who visited Mani Jogini in the Kathmandu valley to sell grass. One day, when he was cutting grass he felt extremely thirsty, and he went in the search of water, finally he found a tank and bathed and drank water from it. He found himself being transformed into a handsome man after emerging out from the depth of the water. He went to city to sell the grass, there the king saw him and became surprised by seeing his transformation and named him “Lalit” which means beautiful. The king wanted to build a memorial on the spot but could find a suitable name for it. One day he heard a voice on in his dream advising him to call it Lalit Patan and asked him to build a city around it. The next morning, he sends lalit across the Bagmati river with a vast sum of money and ordered him to build a city named lalitpur.
The city is called the area of Gopal and Mahispal, the first ruler of Nepal. There are historical records of the existence of the Kirat dynasty in this area. Nepal was ruled by 27–32 Kirat kings, among whom one king named Patuk was chased out from Gokarna, and he started to live on Sankhamul by establishing a palace named Patuk Dho.
Chasal is a place where 800 Kiratis were sentenced to death. Similarly, the golden temple “Hiranyabarna Maha Bihar" was made to be safe from Kiratis, as people suffered from their activities, became unable to come out from the houses, and worshiped the temple. Then one man gets freedom from the Kiratis with the help of Lord Buddha, and he makes this Hiranyabarna Maha Bihar, where 12 priests are required to do regular puja. Similarly, four Bouddha stupas were made by Samrat Ashok on four corners of the Patan city because it was considered one of the main official areas during Kirat dynasty. These Ashokan stupas are still standing in Pulchowk, Gwarko, Lagankhel, and Sankhamul.
The presence of ancient places and stupas showed that Patan was a city with a dense population since the Kirat dynasty. It is the oldest city of the Kathmandu Valley, where we can see the oldest stone statue of Nepal, Gaja Laxmi, built in the 1st century BCE in this city. The Buddhist art and sculpture show that the place was highly influenced by Buddhism.
It was an important area during the Lichhavi and Medieval periods. The ruler was named as “Maninggala dhi pati” during the medieval period, which is believed to have given the name Mangal bazzar to this place. The last king of Patan was Tej Narsingh Malla.
Patan Durbar Square is located at the center of Patan, exactly in 27.6731° N, 85.3250° E of the Latitpur district, Kathmandu Valley. It groups the former royal palace complex and a large number of main temples of the town.
Before the unification of Nepal, Lalitpur was one of three royal city-states within the valley led by its own royal family. The erecting of the palace complex and temples of the durbar square was done by the king and his family.
Presently, the palace complex at the east side of the square has been turned into a museum that is no longer inhabited by the royal family. The temples of the durbar square face the entrance and were built under royal patronage in honor of deceased family members.
Patan Durbar Square is the most attractive among the Kathmandu and Bhaktapur palaces. Comparatively, the historic square of Patan is retained to a large extent, as it had escaped from being ruled by Rana.
The palace was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1979 AD. Then the museum was established in the palace. Before it was named as the Metal Art Museum, and now it is known as the Patan Museum. Each courtyard has been turned into a museum. It is the best museum of South Asia, based on collection and management. We can see various art and crafts related to Buddhism and the history of Patan.
The Patan museum is very important for Buddhist iconography and art. The museum is looked after by the Patan Museum Management Committee, while the palace is looked after by the Patan Durbar Monument and Conservation Office. Two offices are under the control of the executive director.
These statues are related to the gate of Sundari Chowk and Mohan Chowk of the palace. These statues are placed here based on bastu sastra. It is believed that these protective gods will protect the city, palace, and family. They were built in the 17th/18th century during the medieval period.
Specially built for visitors and pilgrims who come to meet the king or worship the lords or have particular work in the palace. It is a place where the people coming from other cities could stay for a few days. It was built in the 17th century with a traditional-style roof. Currently it has been used as a restaurant.
Chyasing Mandap was made to compete with the temple made by Siddhinarsingh Malla. It was built in the period of Yogmati, the daughter of Yognarendra Malla in 1723 AD.
Nepali-style temple also known as Bhai dega. It fell down in the 90s earthquake of Nepal, and it has been renovated for years. It was built in 1678 AD.
Representative of three states of the Kathmandu Valley. It was built in the period of Bishnu Malla in 1737 AD.
The Nepali-style temple was built to minimize the quarrel between two religions (Shaiva and Baishnav) and religious harmony. It was built in 1706 AD, in the period of Siddhi Narsingh Malla. The building was devastated by the 1015 AD earthquake and has been renovated.
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