Description of the attraction
Budanilkantha is an open-air Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. It is located below Shivapuri Hill in the northern part of the Kathmandu Valley. It is 10 km away from the capital of Nepal. The temple complex is famous for the horizontal statue of the god Vishnu, which is considered the largest stone sculpture in Nepal. It is carved from a stone block. Its length is 5 meters. The figure of a deity lying on the rings of the cosmic snake Shesha is in the center of a 13-meter-long pool.
According to one local legend, a peasant and his wife, plowing a field, suddenly discovered that the ground around them was saturated with blood. It turns out that they accidentally hit the sculpture of the god Vishnu with a plow, from which all life on the planet originated. The statue was restored, cleaned of dirt and placed in a water tank, where it is now.
For many years, it was believed that the statue was floating in a water reservoir. In 1957, scientists were admitted to the shrine, who were able to find out that the figure of Vishnu was made of a stone based on silica, but characterized by a surprisingly low density, such as a lava rock. Therefore, it may well stay on the surface of the water. A number of subsequent requests for access to the statue to study its physical nature were denied.
In October-November, the Budanilkantha temple receives thousands of pilgrims. At this time, the holiday of awakening of the god Vishnu from a long sleep is celebrated.
In Nepal, there is a legend that King Pratap Malla (1641-1674) had a prophetic vision according to which the rulers of Nepal would die if they came to the Budanilkantha temple. After that, Nepalese monarchs never visited this temple for fear of negative prophecy.
