The Tripureshwar Mahadev temple ranks among Kathmandu's largest historical monuments, comparable in scale to the mighty Taleju temple in Hanuman Dhoka square. It was built in 1817-18 on the orders of Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari Devi (1794-1832) to memorialize her deceased husband, King Rana Bahadur Shah, who died violently in 1806 at the age of thirty.

The temple is located in south Kathmandu, at the confluence of the Bagmati River and the much smaller Ichu Nadi (or Ichhumati), a small stream. Traditionally, the nexus of two or more streams (dobhans and trivenis, respectively) are believed to be "riverine powerplaces" (Dowman, p. 275) that mimic the archetypal triveni, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers at Prayag (Allahabad) in modern-day India. Such places brim with supernatural influences and are commonly believed to yield superior rebirths for those who bathe in their waters. For such reasons, even cremation grounds in Nepal are often located alongside such confluences (e.g., see the Tribeni Ghat Sattal in Panuati).

Placing the temple by the rivers' confluence was only part of a two-pronged strategy to benefit the departed King's welfare. First, according to Swosti Kayastha, the Queen consulted with numerous counselors and religious experts respected for their understanding of the Vedas, who advised her to erect a Shivalinga as it was "among the highest forms of veneration and devotion" (Kayastha, p. 46). Then, after obtaining the permission of her grandson, Rajendra Bikram, she began the construction of the Shivalinga and its surrounding temple. This would, she was told, result in not only her husband's salvation but also her own—a powerful testament to the personal appeal of the project in the Queen's eyes.

A final, intimate touch is a statue of the Queen, seated in prayer, mounted atop a pedestal facing the temple. Cast in bronze, it depicts the Queen with folded hands, sheltered by a hood of seven cobras, in perpetual vigil over her architectural legacy.

Architecture and Design

The temple is constructed on a series of square plinths, five in all, supporting a three-tiered shrine with a garbhagriha (inner sanctum) at its base. Inside the garbhagriha is mounted a large Shivalinga of black polished stone, set into a yoni-style base. The inner sanctum is compact, with space for at most a few worshippers, although an ambulatory surrounds it to allow pradakshina (ritual circumambulation).

Worship space extends to the exterior of the building, where four miniature temples are built atop the corners of the plinth. Together with the central shrine, they manifest—in physical form—the classic quincunx arrangement idealized for Pancayatana puja. Each of the five shrines represents a particular deity, though variations of the Pancayatana cult assign different deities to the central position. The five gods worshiped are Shiva, Vishnu, Durga (as Mahishasura Mardini), Surya, and Ganesha. As we have seen, a Shivalinga is mounted in the central shrine, while the other four deities are each housed in miniature corner temples. Although this pattern would have been evident to any learned observer in the Queen's time, the symbolism is further strengthened by iconic emblems of each deity mounted atop the miniature shrines. As Kayastha notes, "The temple of Ganesa has the parasu, Mahishasuramardini [i.e., Durga] has the trisula, Visnu has the chakra and the Surya has the flower." (Kayastha, p. 50).

Returning to the main temple, in elevation, it comprises three tiers of roofs, each supported by carved wooden brackets. Gutschow reveals that those on the lower tier depict a variety of deities, including Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu/Rama, and Lakshmana. Those on the middle story are variations of Krishna and his numerous gopis. Finally, on the top level are images of the Astamatrikas, the "divine mothers."

The carvings most accessible to the casual visitor are found on the ground floor sanctum, where expansive Newar-style portals are located on each side. The most salient features distinguishing this temple's portals from other, similar monuments are quite technical and not covered here (interested readers should refer to pages 228-245 in Gutschow's book, "The Portals in Newar Architecture," where he surveys the Tripureshwar portals in exhaustive detail). However, the original design was likely altered when hasty repairs were made in the wake of the 1934 earthquake. The doorways were again reconstructed following the devastating April 2015 earthquake. Although the Tripureshwar was only mildly damaged—the upper roof collapsed—structural damage to the lower levels required the dismantling, cleaning, and re-installation of the woodwork, which was largely completed by 2022.


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