Tadhunchen Bahal

The Tadhunchen Bahal , or Chatur Varna Mahavihara, dates from 1491 and is noteworthy as the place where the cult of the Kumari, Nepal's living goddesses, originally started. Bhaktapur actually has three Kumaris but they lack the political importance of Kathmandu's.

In the inner courtyard the roof struts on the eastern side have some highly unusual carvings showing the tortures of the damned. In one a snake is wrapped around a man, another shows two rams butting an unfortunate's head from opposite sides, while a third strut shows a nasty tooth extraction being performed with a large pair of pliers! You may see copper chasing going on in the courtyard.