During the ‘second’ earthquake on May 12, 2015 (this is the way last year’s quakes are referred to in Nepal), the large copper finial of the five-tiered pagoda of the Kumbeshwar temple came crashing down into its courtyard. The recollections of the temple priest, Madha Shyam Sharma, are still vivid. Of this particular event, and how he carried the finial into the sanctuary for safety. And of course, of April 25 last year, when he experienced the first earthquake inside the temple.
Dedicated to Siva, it is one of the oldest temples in Patan, and, like many others, was destroyed in the 1934 earthquake and since rebuilt. While the temple did not collapse or show major cracks sine 2015, surveys identified the upper tiers as potentially unstable (notice the lacking finial below). The finial is now in storage with the Department of Archaeology for safekeeping, as temples are property of the government. Awaiting treatment.
The precincts also contain an important shrine of the goddess Bagalamukhli, a manifestation of Kali. This smaller temple was more recently destroyed by fire in 1997, and subsequently renewed (it survived the 2015 quake well). Puja (offering) at this shrine is considered wish-fulfilling and it can become very busy here at times! In the offering, terra-cotta dishes filled with 125,000 cotton wicks are lit inside the temple and carried outside in front of it. The intense smoke has created thick layers of soot and patina on the newly installed metal doorframes, which are partially cleaned where rubbed and touched.
The small, silver-clad small shrine housing the deity’s image, created by one of the master craftsmen from the extended Shakya family in 1931, was not replaced after the 1997 renovation. The small heads of deities showed holes due to repeated rubbing. Thus, a new silver shrine was commissioned – of slightly different design (see above). For newly installed metal items, a special ceremony needs to be followed, an “establishment puja” that fully activates the new work.
The silver of the old shrine was meant to be reused, perhaps melted down. By good fortune it found its way into the Patan Museum, where the recent photographs, seen above, were taken. Holes in the heads of gods and all. It is said to contain a bottomless pit, suggested there by a mirror.
The earthquakes, fire damage, a dislocated finial in official storage and a discarded shrine now on display in a museum – much food for thought!
Preservation of metalwork in Nepal 