Myths and legends

Kathmandu is located in a large valley surrounded by mountains on four sides. One of the most famous places in the city is the hill on which the Swayambhunath stupa is located. This is one of the most revered stupas in Nepal. The Dalai Lama VII said that this stupa is the source of the happiness of the whole world.

According to legend, in ancient times the Kathmandu valley was filled with water. And once four bodhisattvas appeared on the shores of this lake. They settled on the hills around it. One of them, Bipashvi Buddha, stopped at the peak located in the northwest (Nagarjun), and sowed a lotus seed in the center of the lake. In the southwest, on another peak (Dhyanochcha), the Shikhi Buddha was immersed in meditation. A Bishwabhu Buddha who came a little later saw a thousand-petal lotus appearing in the center of the lake, in the center of which a small crystal stupa shone (Swayambhunath, translated - “self-born”). Bishvabhu Buddha sitted on a mountain in the southeast (Phulchoki). The last one came Manjushri and stayed on a hill in the northeast (Nagarkot). Fascinated by the sight of a crystal stupa, he began to think how to drain the lake so that pilgrims could visit this sacred place. He chopped a mountain with a sword and all the water came out of the valley, forming Lake Madara.

So the fertile Kathmandu valley appeared, and the gorge through which the water left was called Katuval.

Later, around the spontaneous crystal stupa, a temple complex with a large stupa Swayambhunath was built. The manuscripts say that Guru Rimpoche (Padmasabhava) hid a part of his manuscripts inside the stupa, and that many famous people of those times already visited this place 2000 years ago.

By the 13th century, the hill turned into a major Buddhist center.

However, in the fourteenth century, during the invasion of mugals from Bengal, the stupa was destroyed in an attempt to find gold in it. Later, the stupa was restored and the entire temple complex was significantly rebuilt. In the XVII century, the Great Staircase, with more than 300 steps, was built to the Swayambhunath stupa. At the same time, two Hindu temples were built next to the stupa and a huge dorje (vajra) was placed on the top of the stairs.