1. Jan-Feb 2011

HERITAGE
Image of Narsimha, an important element of Malla
palace which was established by Pratap Malla
The Octagonal Krishna Temple built by Pratap
Malla, in the memory of his two deceased queens.
Before Ratna Malla, the entire valley was ruled by his father
Yaksha Malla from Bhaktapur. The administration of Patan and
Kathmandu was under the Mahapatras, who, in Kathmandu, were
defeated by Ratna Malla and he started his reign from Hiti Chowk.
Today, the Hiti Chowk and even the small temple of goddess
Taleju, built by Ratna Malla near Tanadewal are nonexistent. As
Ratna Malla's reign was shadowed by his quest in conquering
Kathmandu and defeating the Mahapatras, the minimalism in
construction was only to be expected. But it is notable that the
very first structure constructed by the king was the temple of
the goddess Taleju, the royal goddess or the 'clan goddess' of the
Malla Kings.
After Ratna Malla, his next two successors were either not active
in building or any structures they built have been lost in time;
either way there are no monuments reminding of either Surya
Malla or Amar Malla at the Hanumandhokha area. One of the first
influential kings in building the palace complex is the successor of
Amar Malla, Mahendra Malla. Mahendra Malla is credited to be the
first Malla king to have successful trade relations with Tibet, and
hence ruling in an economically prosperous environment. This
prosperity is clearly visible in the structural contributions made
to the palace complex.
In B.S. 1618 the Mahendreshwor Mahadev Temple was
established followed by the temple of ‘Chaturmukh Vishnu’
popularly known as Jaggannath Temple in 1619. The following
year, that is B.S. 1620, the extensive temple of Taleju was
constructed. The Kotilingeshwor temple to the northeast of
the current police station was also constructed by Mahendra
Malla and the Tanadewal temple, to the northeast of Taleju was
renovated by him as well. Except for the Taleju and Jagannath
Temple, none of the other structures built by Mahnedra Malla
are in their original form now. The temple of Degutaleju was
built by Shivsingh, the successor and the younger brother of
Mahendra Malla's successor Sadashiv Malla. Shivsingh was
succeeded by his grandson Laxmi Narsimha Malla, whose reign
saw attacks from Patan and Bhaktapur. His own son Pratap
Malla was against him, hence it is not surprising to see a decline
in building trends during his reign. It is, however very interesting
The temple of Mahendreshwor Mahadev, which
has developed considerably through time
The Palace complex developed by multiple rulers. In this image the three towering
structures, Taleju temple, Temple of Panchamukhi Hanuman and the Bengal tower
were built by Mahendra Malla, Pratap malla and Pratp Singh respectively.
www.spacesnepal.com 72
January-February 2011