KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 21

Authorities are all set to place a new idol of lord Gorakhnath at the newly-constructed Kasthamandap that was completely destroyed in the 2015 earthquakes.

The Kasthamandap Reconstruction Committee, which started the reconstruction work after much heated discord in May 2018, said that they had already carved the new idol of Gorakhnath as the older statue had broken due to the earthquake.

'As per Hindu principle, it is not pious to use broken statues as it is not considered auspicious. So, we will place a new one following all religious procedures,' said Rajesh Shakya, chairperson of the reconstruction committee and also a member of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly. He further claimed that the decision was taken after consulting senior Buddhist and Hindu priests. The new idol is crafted by sculptor Naresh Maharjan of Lalitpur using archaeologically sound technology. Authorities have also crafted four statues of Lord Ganesh that were part of Kasthamandap temple and suffered damage in the earthquake.

The old statue of the lord Gorkhanath, which is said to be broken into parts, is now in the custody of Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum at Basantapur under the Department of Archaeology.

After installation of the new idol, the temple will either be placed at the same museum in Basantapur or will be transferred at the National Museum, Chhauni, to be observed by the general public.

Chief of Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum Sandeep Khanal said that they had not received any information about the new idol being made, however, they had continued regular worship of the idol.

'We have noticed some broken parts of the idol, which had been immediately repaired using traditional methods. For now it is safe with us and can be witnessed by anyone upon request. However, we will abide by the authorities' decision on the original idol.'

Meanwhile, authorities are willing to inaugurate the much-hyped reconstruction of the historic temple within two weeks.

'Almost 90 per cent of reconstruction work has been completed. If everything goes as planned, we can place the new idol within a couple of weeks and inaugurate it at a function,' Shakya said.

The reconstruction process of Kasthamandap had remained in limbo for a long time after various issues were raised by the stakeholders, locals and rights activists. The reconstruction work had formally begun after Kathmandu Metropolitan City agreed to reconstruct the temple on its own expenses through the participation of local people. For the reconstruction, KMC provided Rs 110 million, said Shakya.

Kasthamandap temple is considered to be one of the oldest temples in Kathmandu valley. It was earlier thought that the temple was constructed in the 17th century. But, it was proven wrong when a study of the foundation after the 2015 earthquakes showed that the temple was actually built during the 7th century.

Historians and conservationists have discovered multiple large foundation walls and pillars of timber renovated several times in history.

A version of this article appears in the print on November 22, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.