Manakamana
Manakamana Temple
The Manakamana Temple (Nepali: मनकामना मन्दिर) situated in the Gorkha district of Nepal is the sacred place of the Hindu Goddess Bhagwati, an incarnation of Parvati.The name Manakamana originates from two words, “mana” meaning heart and “kamana” meaning wish. Venerated since the 17th century, it is believed that Goddess Manakamana grants the wishes of all those who make the pilgrimage to her shrine to worship her.
Temple Architecture
The Manakamana temple is set in a square and looks across a massive sacred magnolia tree. The temple is four storied with tiered pagoda style roofs and lies on a square pedestal.The entrance to the temple is in the south-west direction and is marked by one stone, which is the sacrificial pillar.After the disastrous 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Manakamana’s south-west portion began to tilt. The entrance to the temple has digressed from its silver door frame and the wood frames are also decaying. Two colossal black wooden pillars supporting the temple have also shifted positions, causing the temple to incline. The earthquake on November 13, 2011, with its epicentre in northeast Gorkha further weakened the temple’s structure because of which the temple base get subside into the ground. The slopes next to the temple have faced numerous mudslides creating a threat to the temple.
According to a report submitted by the Department of Archaeology (DoA) and the Ministry of Culture (MoC) in 2011, the wooden planks supporting the temple are swarming with termites. The improper channelling of water has led to the decay of the temple’s brick foundation. However, a research officer at DoA asserted that the temple is damaged beyond repair and must, in fact, be relocated. The Manakamana temple was destroyed by the 2015 massive earthquake. The temple is in the restoration process.
Mythical Foundation
The legend of Manakamana Goddess dates back to the reign of the Gorkha king Ram Shah during the 17th century. It is said that his queen possessed divine powers, which only her devotee Lakhan Thapa knew about. One day, the king witnessed his queen in Goddess incarnation and Lakhan Thapa in the form of a lion. Upon mentioning the revelation to his queen, a mysterious death befell the king. As per the custom of that time, the queen committed Sati (ritual immolation) on her husband’s funeral pyre. Before her Sati, the queen had assured Lakhan Thapa that she would reappear in the near future. Six months later, a farmer while ploughing his fields cleaved a stone. From the stone, he saw a stream of blood and milk flow. When Lakhan heard an account of this event, he immediately started performing Hindu tantric rituals at the site where the stone had been discovered thus ceasing the flow of blood and milk. The site became the foundation of the present shrine. According to tradition, the priest at the temple must be descendent of Lakhan Thapa.
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| Bells At Bhagwati. |
Getting there.
Manakamana is suited in Gorkha District of Nepal. 94 kilometres from Pokhara and 106 kilometres from Kathmandu.In earlier times, the only way to reach the Manakamana temple was a long strenuous trek for about three hours. Now, there is a facility of a cable car from kurintar, just 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of Mugling to Manakamana. The cable car rides over the distance of 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) in 10 minutes more or less. You can get daily bus or Toyota Hiace from Kathmandu pickup and drop.
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| With Welcome Note When we Enter At Manakamana Cable Car station. |
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| Main Entrance of Cable Car. |
About the Cable car
The cable car usually operates during the daytime from 9 am to 5 pm and stops during a lunch break from noon to half past one. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev inaugurated Manakamana cable car on November 24, 1998. The cable car system was imported from Austria and guarantees a hundred percent safety. It has features such as automatically operated generators in case of power failure and hydraulic emergency drive. The employees working at the cable car service are qualified and well trained for emergencies.
The bottom station of the cable car is placed at Kurintar (258 metres (846 ft)) and the top station is at Mankamana (1,302 metres (4,272 ft)). With 31 passenger cars and 3 cargo cars, the cable car can handle up to 600 persons per hour. The number of passengers per carrier is 6. The cable car requires a starting power of about 523 Kilowatt and continues further at a power of 420 Kilowatt. All passengers are insured up to Rs. 1,00,000.
Ticket Price
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Some Pictures throughout the journey
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| Trishul river and Highway seem from Cable Car . |
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| Cable Car reaching Manakamana Temple. |
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| Small Village from the Cable car heading towards Manakamana Temple. |
