The Lost God of Kathmandu

Features Issue 155 Oct, 2014

Hanuman has been a benevolent figure in all our lives and as ethereal as the open sky. However, there lies a deeper layer that we uncover with this issue; one that will take you around our city, and present the darker side of the son of Vayu.

The story of Hanuman has been told and retold many times; most of us know it like the back of our hands. The celestial monkey-god has been in some of the most crucial junctures in one of the most prominent scriptures of Hinduism- the Ramayana and has been equally revered in all cultures that trace its roots to Sanskrit. The impact of his worship and reverence can be seen as far as Trinidad & Tobago in the Caribbean, where the largest statue of Hanuman stands at a staggering 85 feet. Our perception of this demi-god is based on tales we have heard and read in books growing up. Hanuman has been the embodiment of loyalty, strength and sacrifice, not to mention the Hanuman Chalisa is one of the most popular mantras. The protector, he has been portrayed in many forms; some have etched themselves into our psyche others have been forgotten with time.

It is necessary that we first explain where the whole lineage and the backdrop from where this hunt stems from. As the Ramayana explains, whilst in the throes of war in Lanka, Ravana asked his brother Mahiravana (the King of the Netherworld) to capture Rama and Laxman. Mahiravana through his psychic powers was able to do so with ease and took them down to the Netherworld as prisoners. Hanuman naturally went to the rescue and was met by Mahiravana in his magical form and was then presented with five lights to blow at the same time if he wanted to see the sons of Dashratha ever again. This is where Hanuman takes the form of Panchamukhi Hanuman, which is considered to be his most ‘rudra’ or near-demonic form. He blows out all the five candles present in the four directions as well as one above. 

This is the first ever description of Hanuman’s fiercest form in the scriptures and while it only makes a small cameo in this story, we slowly learn how it has seeped far deeper than we could have imagined in Nepal and is present from small shrines, to granite statues guarding a museum, to residing in a temple that is only the second of its kind anywhere in the world. This is a chronicle of how a simple search for the Hanu-Bhairava, brought forth the legacy of the Panchamukhi Hanuman.

 The Panchamukhi Hanuman as the name explains has five heads and ten arms. The first head is the central and normal face of Hanuman. The Second is that of the Vishnu’s ‘vahana’ the Garud. The third is that of the Narsimha (one of Vishnu’s avatar, half man- half lion). The fourth is of Hayagriva and is a human face. The last one is that of Baraha (boar).

The Clue

The spark that opened up this whole new dimension of Lord Hanuman began with two very humble statues at the Patan Museum:

The little inscription below both these statues explain this deity as ‘Hanu-Bhairava’ a composite God that encapsulates both Vaishnaivism (Vishnu aspect) and Shaivism (Shiva aspect) in an amalgamated form. Both these bronze statues are from the 18th century and suggest that Hanuman was held in high regard amongst the people during the rule of the Mallas. 

“The Hanu-Bhairav that resides at Patan Museum is the wrathful tantric manifestation of Lord Shiva who is usually the gentle and passive one. Hanu-Bhairav appears to be the lineage deity of the Malla rulers and therefore was highly revered and worshipped since the 14th century onwards. Religious belief is that he protects the country, king and fellow countrymen from any kind of danger in general and natural disasters and from intruders in particular. He blesses you with victory over your enemies; that was the reason why the Malla Kings used the image of Hanuman in their banner.

Inscriptional evidence prove this fact as well. The pedestal-inscription of Hanumanta-Bhairav at the main entrance of Simhadhoka-durbar (where the National Art Gallery is housed in Bhaktapur) is one of the good examples of this fact. He remains a hero till this day and is still worshipped to ward off evil spirits and enemies.”

Such reverence and belief in Hanuman begs the question, why did the Mallas believe in Hanuman to begin with and were they the ones to bring the various forms of Hanuman to Nepal? Those questions, said Suresh Man Lakhe, would be best answered, by a certain Mr. Lochan in Bhaktapur.

Blood-drenched Fangs

A quaint little building stood before me as I got off the phone. In front of me lay the residence of Purshottam Lochan Shrestha, and the owner had just given me directions leading me exactly up to his gate. My confidant and I climbed up the stairs as a beaming man stretched out his hand, exchanged pleasantries and handed me his card that read: Purshottam Lochan Shrestha, Ph.D. Professor, Tribhuvan University, Bhaktapur Multiple Campus, Research: Nepalese History, Culture and Archaeology. I raised the topic of this article and he quickly pursed his lips and replied, “I have some knowledge of this…”

It was clear, the Mallas worshipped Hanuman ever since they came to Nepal and their reverence grew ten-fold when they attained control of major cities. Hanuman was a symbol of power and victory for them. Shrestha explained how the dark aspect of Hanuman seldom shows it’s face in books but was very well known in the olden days. 

As I bid adieu to the professor, he called suddenly as I was almost out the door “Young man! Now that you are here in Bhaktapur, maybe the Bhaktapur Museum has something for you as well. There is a statue at the entrance that you may appreciate,” he said. This seemed like an added bonus to the whole story so I walked towards the Museum and right at the entrance’s right stood the most intimidating statue of Hanuman I had ever seen. There in the hot winter sun, his blood drenched fangs gleamed in all their mystic glory.

A quaint little building stood before me as I got off the phone. In front of me lay the residence of Purshottam Lochan Shrestha, and the owner had just given me directions leading me exactly up to his gate. My confidant and I climbed up the stairs as a beaming man stretched out his hand, exchanged pleasantries and handed me his card that read: Purshottam Lochan Shrestha, Ph.D. Professor, Tribhuvan University, Bhaktapur Multiple Campus, Research: Nepalese History, Culture and Archaeology. I raised the topic of this article and he quickly pursed his lips and replied, “I have some knowledge of this…”

It was clear, the Mallas worshipped Hanuman ever since they came to Nepal and their reverence grew ten-fold when they attained control of major cities. Hanuman was a symbol of power and victory for them. Shrestha explained how the dark aspect of Hanuman seldom shows it’s face in books but was very well known in the olden days. 

As I bid adieu to the professor, he called suddenly as I was almost out the door “Young man! Now that you are here in Bhaktapur, maybe the Bhaktapur Museum has something for you as well. There is a statue at the entrance that you may appreciate,” he said. This seemed like an added bonus to the whole story so I walked towards the Museum and right at the entrance’s right stood the most intimidating statue of Hanuman I had ever seen. There in the hot winter sun, his blood drenched fangs gleamed in all their mystic glory.

The 5 Heads Are Complete

Witnessing this statue for the first time is an awe-inspiring moment. It isn’t like any other sculpture you see around Bhaktapur or Kathmandu for that matter; there is something very gruesome about the sandalwood laced fangs shimmering in the sunlight. Upon asking I learnt that the curator was off for the day but that there was a khola nearby called Hanumante Khola, as you go down from the Bhaktapur Square. The ‘purohit’ there would entertain all questions Hanuman. So trudging on I quickly discovered the bliss of fine handicrafts and rather cheap local beer on the way as Bhaktapur seemed like a blessed place to be that day. The khola was the opposite to what the statue made us experience earlier; drab and rather depressing. However, the local ‘purohit’ was buoyed by our interest and that we came “all the way” from Kathmandu looking for Hanu-Bhairava. He claimed, “This is the khola where Hanuman had taken rest during one of his voyages and the Hanu Bhairava you see at the gate of the museum is but just one part of a larger entity called the Panchamukhi Hanuman. The sculpture at the gate is called Hanu-Narsimha and is one of the parts of the Panchamukhi Hanuman.” The hunt for the Hanu-Bhairava had yielded the Hanu-Narsimha which had finally revealed itself in its true and full form for the first time, The Panchamukhi Hanuman. He explained how the Panchamukhi Hanuman was first witnessed in scriptures (citing the earlier Mahiravana story) and how we had run around the bush searching for Lord Hanuman’s rudra aspect. “Why so?” I questioned the man of god to which he smiled and replied, “Because the biggest temple of Panchamukhi Hanuman anywhere that I know of is situated in the heart of Kathmandu!”

The Last Two In The World

It is fitting that the end would bring me to the bustling streets of Basantpur. And as I gazed upon the anomaly of a temple that stood before me, it reminded me of how we often disregard our hands when we are looking for help. The obvious, is right there staring at you in the face, and yet we do nothing but look hither-thither for the answers. 

Now in all honesty, the Hanuman Dhoka Museum is a place seldom visited by our kind, but to those who do go there on a whim or purpose, it always offers something new that enthrals you and lights that little spark in you about the history of Nepal. The desire to know more is insatiable and that thirst for knowledge is why I stood craning my neck back in the sun and discover that this is quite simply, the biggest temple dedicated to Panchamukhi Hanuman anywhere in the world. To put into perspective the magnitude of this temple’s importance in Nepalese history (namely that of Kathmandu), this is the reason why Hanuman Dhoka, is called ‘Hanuman Dhoka’. It was one of the lookout stations for the then king of Kathmandu Pratap Malla and also served as one of the most revered shrines of the time.

he first thing that strikes you about the temple is its structural novelty. The umbrella like design at every level is oddly reminiscent of UFOs stacked upon one another. Upon questioning further I was led into a small room where a lady smilingly explained to me, “Well, it is but the second Hindu temple in the entire world that incorporates this architecture, so your amazement at it is quite justified.”

“If you look closely, you can see various gods in the 5-faced form but the presiding deity of this temple is the Panchamukhi Hanuman,” began the lady and by then I was well aware that I was speaking to Saraswoti Singh, Executive Director at the Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Museum Development Committee. The whole temple has these sculptures round each level but it was the god resting inside that I wanted to know more about. Saroswoti Singh kindly pointed me to the Hanuman Dhoka Library and told me that I was the first to enter the Hanuman Dhoka Library post renovation. This was a matter of pride and sorrow in my mind; more people need to soak in the sheer excitement that is the rediscovery of history. 

Her interest in my mission made her follow me to the library and while I was busy going through Medieval Nepal Volume 2 by Dr. Dilliram Regmi, she said with a little twinkle in her eyes, “We heard stories about the Panchamukhi Hanuman growing up and that the god had 5 faces, 10 arms and each arm had a weapon of sorts in its clasp. It turned out to be true once I started reading more about him.” She explained how every head had a different colour and oddities of things that the ten arms held ranged from Radishes to Tridents. 

As we walked towards the main square in the middle of the museum she looked around and said with one final grin, “It astounds me that people know so little of something they have heard of every day of their lives living here; there are so many statues and artefacts just waiting to be unearthed here and I wish, more of us took an interest in all this.”

 The flags fluttering in the wind, hanging off the banisters of the temple distracted me for a moment and I fell into another dream like gaze looking upon this historical yet unknown monument. It spoke in a poignant moment to me of how the whole consciousness of this city once resided in this god. They sought him for protection and for worship, for war and for celebration. Once upon a time, Panchamukhi Hanuman was the highest of gods in this valley, and the pieces left behind by the destitution of time when pieced together, unveil before you, the Lost God Of Kathmandu.

Epilogue
Walking down the streets of Pulchowk one is too busy, paying attention to the traffic or the chatter of the college girls as you pass by Pilgrim’s Book Shop, then Nabil Bank then Himalayan Bank. An ordinary day, an ordinary walk.

Look closer, look to your right. And in plain sight is the Panchamukhi Hanuman. Right in front of the Himalayan Bank office, still worshiped, still revered; still there. Centuries of dissolution has not wiped the imprint of this manifestation of Hanuman in our valley; and remarkably, neither has the recent road expansion. The clues are all there, all they need, is someone to trace them.

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