The great stupa of Swayambhu Mahachaitya was built prominently on a hilltop, located slightly west of the center of modern Kathmandu, and is surrounded by many other important monuments, shrines, as well as smaller devotional offerings. Over centuries, the precincts were enlarged, damages were repaired, and losses were rebuilt. In fact, maintenance and repair of a Buddhist chaitya is an undertaking that provides great spiritual merit.
Yet, the monuments of Swayambhu suffered again extensive damage during the 2015 quake. Three entire buildings collapsed, others show severe cracking and dislodged buildings materials.
One building that has by now been completely removed after its devastation, is the active Buddhist monastery Shree Karmaraja Mahavihar, north of the stupa. Central to the monastery was a large seated image of the Buddha, which was housed in an ornately decorated hall.
The image was created in the 20th century by one of the great and legendary metal craftsmen, Kuber Singh Shakya (1881-1957) of Oku-Mahal, Patan. In the process, numerous individual pieces of hammered copper sheet were worked in repoussé, joined, and covered with a thick layer of gold. Today, the Buddha remains in situ, in a small roofed shelter that allows devotees and other visitors to fully view the image.
Preservation of metalwork in Nepal 