Even though some of the temples in Durbar Square were not re-erected after the 1934, there is still plenty to see: Shiva Temple, Shiva Parvati Temple, four Char Dham temples, Vatsala Durga Temple, Pashupatinath Temple, Siddhi Lakshmi Temple, and Fasidega Temple. And then there a few other monuments like King Bhupatindra Malla’s column, a Taleju bell, and statues of Ugrachandi and Bhairab. I must have be overwhelmed as I don’t really have that many pictures, and I either missed the much-discussed pornography on Pahsupatinath or my guide steered me in another direction.
King Malla's Column, Taleju Bell, and Vatsala Durga Temple
King Bhupatindra Malla’s column was erected in 1699; the Taleju Bell was erected by King Jaya Ranjit Mall in 1737; and the Indian-style temple with mythical beasts an the sides of the shikhara dates from either 1672 or 1727.
King Malla's Column and Vatsala Durga Temple
King Bhupatindra Malla
Beasts on the shikhara of Vatsala Durga Temple
This "barking bell" was erected in front of the temple in 1721
This statue of Ugrachandi has 18 arms holding a variety of weapons symbolising the multiple aspects of her character. The killing of a demon with a trident symbolizes the victory of wisdom over ignorance.
Ugrachandi slaying a demon with a trident
The Rameshwar Temple is rather plain compared to the Vatsala Durga
Rameshwar Temple
But it makes a nice planter!
Plant growing from roof of Rameshwar Temple
Carving on Rameshwar Temple
I’m not sure which temple this is, but someone else labelled it “Krishna Temple.”
Krishna Temple
The following view is from the opposite (western) end of Durbar Square. The Vatsala Durga Temple is on the left with the pagoda-roofed Chyasilin Mandap in the middle and the base of the Siddhi Lakshmi Temple in the right foreground.
Western end of Durbar Square, Bhaktapur
The 17th-century Siddhi Lakshmi Temple or Stone Temple features pairs of guardians on the steps: a man and a woman leading a child and a LARGE dog, horses, rhinos, human-faced lions, and camels.
Steps of the Siddhi Lakshmi Temple
One set of attendants
The Chyasilin Mandap was created in 1990 used leftover parts from a temple destroyed in the 1934 earthquake.
It's not a temple and it's not old
The Fasidega Temple is singularly unexciting architecturally, but it makes a good landmark.
Fasidega Temple
Elephants, lions and cows guard the Fasidega Temple
This lion is one of a pair that no longer have a temple to guard.
A guardian without anything to guard