1. Jan-Feb 2011

HERITAGE
The Temple of Shiv Parvati commissioned by
Bahadur Shah. This temple is built in traditional
Newari style and the first plinth acts as a dabali
used for cultural performances.
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Incidentally the monuments erected during their reign were all
commissioned by their mothers, queen regents, Riddhilaxmi and
Bhuvanlaxmi respectively. During the reign of Bhupalendra Malla an
image of Garuda was placed in front of the Trailokyamohan Narayan
Temple by Queen Mother Riddhilaxmi (B.S. 1746). In the same year
the huge temple of Lord Shiva, popularly known as Maju Degal was
also constructed. Maju Degal is named so as it was commissioned
by the Queen Mother and is the highest temple in the palace
complex after Taleju and Degutale, both of which are the shrines
of the Mother Goddesses. Bhupalendra Malla was succeeded by
his four year old son, Bhaskar Malla. In his reign, Queen Mother
Bhuvanalaxmi established the gold images of Ananda Bhairav
and Ananda Bhairavi in the memory of her late husband; these
images are displayed during Indra Jatra. The images of Ganga and
Jamuna at the door of Taleju were also established by her. In B.S.
1765 the Queen Mother also commissioned the construction of
a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva which is now popularly known
as Kageshwor Temple. Although this temple was initially built in
traditional Malla style, after the earthquake of B.S. 1990, it has been
reconstructed in a hybrid fashion, merging the traditional Malla
style with Shikhara Style.
Bhaskar Malla, being childless, appointed Jagajaya Malla as his
successor. His reign saw the death of his eldest son and he erected
a temple of Laxmi and Vishnu. In the earthquake of B.S. 1990, the
temple was destroyed and the golden image was moved to the
eastern wing of Nasal Chowk. Jagajaya Malla was succeeded by
his son Jayaprakash Malla, the last Malla king to rule the Valley. As
his reign was filled with both internal conflicts as well as attacks by
the forces from Gorkha, there was neither economic prosperity nor
patronizing of arts and architecture. The only architectural entity
created by Jayaprakash Malla is the Kumari Chowk, the residence
of the living goddess Kumari. The Kumari Chowk built in B.S. 1813,
is constructed in the form of a Buddhist Bahal.
When Prithivi Narayan Shah captured Kathmandu, he devised the
policy to promote Nepali artists; his policy encouraged building in
traditional styles as well as encouraged the promotion of local arts
and crafts. Within this policy he commissioned the construction
of Basantapur and Vilas Mandir within the existing palace complex
in B.S. 1826. Following the policy of Prithivi Narayan Shah, his
successors Pratap Singh Shah and Rana Bahadur Shah also
www.spacesnepal.com 76
January-February 2011