Doleshwor Temple

Doleshwor temple is the holy and sacred monument located in the eastern part of the Kathmandu valley. It is located in the Suryabinayak municipality south eastern part of Bhaktapur district. This temple is believed to be the head of the Lord Shiva whose body is in the Kedarnath located in Uttarakhand, India. This temple is in the lap of the hill surrounded by the beautiful landscape and nature. Those who visited the Kedarnath come to Doleshwor to offer their prayers to the Lord Shiva to complete their pilgrimage. The temple is built in Pagoda style with the Gajur on top. We can observe the bull outside the main shrine of the temple. 

HISTORY of Doleshwor temple

According to the legend and the Mahabharat. The Pandav brothers who have won their kingdom against their cousins, the hundred Kaurava brothers. They were seeking forgiveness from Lord Shiva for the loss of lives during the 18 days Kurukchetra war. But the Lord Shiva didn’t want to forgive them and took the form of a bull and went to the Kedarnath. Upon the realization the Pandav tried to stop the Lord Shiva by pulling the bull’s tail which resulted in the separation of head from the body of the bull. The Pandav couldn’t locate the head of the bull in their lives. The separated head is here in the Doleshwor and the body part is in the Kedarnath of India.

INFORMATION

The temple is the shrine of the Lord Shiva. The temple is usually packed with the Nepalese and Indian worshipers. The month long fair is celebrated here on the month of Shrawan according to the lunar calendar. The temple is mostly crowded during Shivarartri, TEEJ, Balachaturdasi and every Monday of the Shrawan month. It is believed that if we whisper our wish on the ear of the bulls outside of the shrine, it is directly delivered to the Lord Shiva in the Kailash Parvat. We can also hike from the main stop of Suryabinayak to the temple.

We can get there from the local bus from the stop of Suryabinayak. Or we can take our own ride or hire the cab.