PASHUPATINATH TEMPLE

Nepal is a tourists destinations country.Nepal is a birth place of culture.Most of the tourists from different countries come to visit Nepal's historical & religious place.As others countries in the world,Nepal has also a historical & religious place.Among them,pashupatinath temple is famous all over the world.Pashupatinath temple lies in the capital city of Nepal.Pashupatinath temple ,the cultural sites of Nepal,was added to the list of world heritages sites in 1979.This temple has its own pride & prestige.This temple has a magic of luring anyone towards it.Pashupati, is located in Deopatan, a little town 3 km northwest of Kathmandu. It is a Hindu temple, dedicated to a manifestation of Shiva called Pashupati (Lord of Animals). It attracts thousands of pilgrims each year and has become well known far beyond the Kathmandu Valley.
It is not known for certain when the temple was founded. Tradition says it was constructed by Pashupreksha of the Somadeva Dynasty in the 3rd century BC, but the first historical records date from the 13th century. The ascetic Pashupata sect was likely related to its foundation. And Pashupati was a tutelary deity of the ancient rulers of the Kathmandu Valley; in 605, Amshuvarman considered himself favoured by his touching of the god's feet.

Pashupati Temple stands in the center of the town of Deopatan, in the middle of an open courtyard. It is a square, two-tiered pagoda temple built on a single-tier plinth, and it stands 23.6 meters above the ground. Richly ornamented gilt and silver-plated doors are on all sides.
On both sides of each door are niches of various sizes containing gold-painted images of guardian deities. Inside the temple itself is a narrow ambulatory around the sanctum. The sanctum contains a one-meter high linga with four faces (chaturmukha) representing Pashupati, as well as images of Vishnu, Surya, Devi and Ganesh.

The priests of Pashupati Nath are called Bhattas and the chief priest is called Mool Bhatt or Raval. The chief priest is answerable only to the King of Nepal and reports to him on temple matters on a periodic basis.

The struts under the roofs, dating from the late 17th century, are decorated with wood carvings of members of Shiva's family such as Parvati, Ganesh, Kumar or the Yoginis, as well as Hanuman, Rama, Sita, Lakshman and other gods and goddesses from the Ramayana.
Today this temple is famous not only in Nepal but also it is famous all over the world.Because of its glory,every tourists are now luring day by day.