Dhum Varahi Shrine

Lonely Planet review

In an unprepossessing schoolyard just inside Kathmandu's Ring Rd to the northeast of Kathmandu, a huge pipal tree encloses a small shrine and a dramatic 5th-century sculpture of Vishnu as a wild boar with a stocky human body, holding Prithvi, the earth goddess, on his left elbow.

The statue is interesting because it is one of the earliest depictions of an animal-human, created before iconographic rules were established, which perhaps contributes to the unusual sense of movement and vitality that the statue possesses. The statue shows Vishnu rescuing Prithvi from the clutches of a demon.

To get here head north along the Ring Rd from Pashupatinath and take a left about 200m north of the bridge over the Dhobi River. The statue lies 100m down the dirt track, in the grounds of the Shridhumrabarah Primary School.