Sekh Narayan is one of
the four most important Narayan shrines in the Kathmandu Valley.
It is located at the
foot of the Gorakhanath hill on the east side of the Pharping road.
The zone is divided
into two areas. The first one is adjacent to the road and consists of a series
of water pools with foot paths connecting them. There are two shikhara-style
structures of Mahadev and several ancient carved stone images. Adjacent to the
lower foot path there are a Lakshmi Narayan, Ardha Narishwar, Vishnu, and
Kamadev. There are a thirteenth century Surya panel and a Surya figure, both
half submerged in one of the pools. One Shiva-Parbati is located within the
upper tank and another is next to the stairway leading to the lower pool.
A stone stairway winds
up to the second area, about 13m above the pools, where a single-roofed temple
is built in front of the Narayan cave. There are life-size stone figures of
Garuda and a Vishnu Vikranta, as well as a sixteenth century Hanuman. Behind
the temple, a vertical rock wall goes up hundreds of feet. Inside the shrine
are images of Vishnu, Gauri, and Lakshmi Narayan.
According to legend,
Pradyumna, the son of Lord Krishna, established this shrine of Narayan.
The small Sekh Narayan Temple is the
centerpiece of an interesting collection of temples, pools and carvings. The
pools are beside the road to Pharping,
Sekh Narayan (Shesh Narayan) temple is one of the four Vishnu temple built at the cardinal
points of the Kathmandu valley, the others are Changu Narayan.
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