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Ashok Binayak
On the northern side of Kasthamandap, at the top of Maru Tole, stands the tiny golden Ashok Binayak, or Maru Ganesh Shrine. The small size of this shrine belies its importance, as this is one of the four most important Ganesh shrines in the valley. Ganesh is a much-loved god and there is a constant stream of visitors, helping themselves to the self-serve tika dispenser and then ringing the bells at the back.
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Bhagwati Temple
Next to the Gaddhi Baithak, this triple-storey, triple-roofed Bhagwati Temple is easily missed since it surmounts the building below it, which currently has thangka (religious Tibetan paintings) shops along its front. The best view of the temple and its golden roofs is probably from the Maju Deval, across the square.
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Degutaleju Temple
This triple-roofed temple is actually part of the Hanuman Dhoka, surmounting the buildings below it, but is most easily seen from outside the palace walls. Degutaleju is another manifestation of the Malla's personal goddess Taleju. This temple was built by Shiva Singh Malla.
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Dhum Varahi Shrine
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.
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Indrapur Temple
This puzzling temple may be of great antiquity but has been renovated recently and little is known of its history. Even the god to which it is dedicated is controversial - the lingam inside indicates that it is a Shiva temple but the Garuda image half-buried on the southern side indicates that it is dedicated to Vishnu. However, the temple's name clearly indicates it is dedicated to Indra!
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Jagannath Temple
Jagannath Temple, noted for the erotic carvings on its roof struts, is the oldest structure in this part of the square. Pratap Malla claimed to have constructed the temple during his reign, but it may actually date back to 1563, during the rule of Mahendra Malla. The temple has a three-tiered platform and two storeys. There are three doors on each side of the temple, but only the centre door opens.
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Jaisi Deval Temple
The south of Kathmandu's old city was the heart of the ancient city in the Licchavi period (4th to 9th centuries) and its major temple is the tall, triple-roofed Jaisi Deval Temple, built just two years before Durbar Sq's famous Maju Deval (which is one platform higher). It's a Shiva temple, as indicated by the bull on the first few steps and the mildly erotic carvings on some of the temple struts.
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Kabindrapur Temple
Kabindrapur Temple, or Dhansa Dega, is an ornate 17th-century performance pavilion which houses the god of music.
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Kakeshwar Temple
Kakeshwar Temple was originally built in 1681 but, like so many other structures, was rebuilt after it was badly damaged in the 1934 earthquake. It may have been considerably altered at that time as the temple is a strange combination of styles. It starts with a Newari style floor, above which is an Indian shikhara -style upper storey, topped by a spire shaped like a kalasa (water vase), indicative of a female deity.
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Kala (Black) Bhairab
Behind the Jagannath Temple is the large figure of Kala (Black) Bhairab. Bhairab is Shiva in his most fearsome aspect, and this huge stone image of the terrifying Kala Bhairab has six arms, wears a garland of skulls and tramples a corpse, which is symbolic of human ignorance. The figure is said to have been brought here by Pratap Malla, having been found in a field to the north of the city. The image was originally cut from a single stone, but the upper left-hand corner has since been repaired.
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Kasthamandap
Kathmandu owes its very name to the Kasthamandap, in the southwestern corner of the square. Although its history is uncertain, local tradition says the three-roofed building was constructed around the 12th century from the wood of a single sal tree. At first it served as a community centre where visitors gathered before major ceremonies - a mandap is a 16-pillared pilgrim shelter.
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Kotilingeshwar Mahadev Temple
This early Malla temple dates from the reign of Mahendra Malla in the 16th century. The three-stage plinth is topped by a temple in the gumbhaj style, which basically means a square structure topped by a bell-shaped dome. The bull facing the temple on the west side indicates that it is a Shiva temple. Next door is the Mahavishnu Temple.
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Krishna Temple
The history of the octagonal Krishna Temple is well documented. It was built in 1648 by Pratap Malla, perhaps as a response to Siddhinarsingh's magnificent Krishna Temple in Patan. Inside there are images of Krishna and two goddesses, which, according to a Sanskrit inscription, are modelled on the king and his two wives. The temple also has a Newari inscription, but this neglects to mention the king's little act of vanity.
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Kumari Bahal
At the junction of Durbar and Basantapur Sqs is a red brick, three-storey building with some incredible intricately carved windows. This is the Kumari Bahal , home to the Kumari, the young girl who is selected to be the town's living goddess until she reaches puberty and reverts to being a normal mortal. The building, in the style of the courtyarded Buddhist vihara (monastic abodes) of the valley, was built in 1757 by Jaya Prakash Malla.
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Mahakala Temple
On the eastern side of Kantipath, just north of New Rd, the Mahakala Temple was very badly damaged in the 1934 earthquake and is now of little architectural merit. If you can see inside the darkened shrine you may be able to make out the 1.5m-high figure of Mahakala, the 'Great Black One', a particularly ferocious form of Shiva.
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Mahavishnu Temple
Next door to Kotilingeshwar Mahadev Temple is the Mahavishnu Temple, which was damaged in the 1934 earthquake.
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Mahendreshwar Temple
At the extreme northern end of the square, this temple dates from 1561, during the reign of Mahendra Malla. The temple was restored in 1963 and is dedicated to Shiva. A small image of Shiva's bull Nandi fronts the temple and at the northeastern corner there is an image of Kam Dev. The temple has a wide, two-level plinth and a spire topped by a golden umbrella.
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Maju Deval
A pleasant half hour can easily be spent sitting on the steps of this Shiva temple. In fact the nine-stage ochre platform of the Maju Deval is probably the most popular meeting place in the city. From here you can watch the constant activity of fruit and vegetable hawkers, the comings and goings of taxis and rickshaws, and the flute and other souvenir sellers importuning tourists.
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Nara Devi Temple
Halfway between Chhetrapati and Durbar Sq, the Nara Devi Temple is dedicated to Kali, Shiva's destructive consort. It's also known as the Seto Kali (White Kali) Temple.
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Narayan (Vishnu) Temple
Narayan (Vishnu) Temple stands to the west side of the Shiva-Parvati Temple.
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Pachali Bhairab & the Southern Ghats
Between Tripureshwar Marg and the Bagmati River at Pachali Bhairab a huge, ancient pipal tree forms a natural sanctuary for an image of Bhairab Pachali, surrounded by tridents (Pachali is a form of Shiva). To the side lies the brass body of Baital, one of Shiva's manifestations. Worshippers gather here on Tuesday and Saturday. It is particularly busy here during the festival of Pachali Bhairab Jatra.
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Ram Chandra Temple
Southwest of Jaisi Deval Temple, enter the courtyard of the Ram Chandra Temple, named after Ram, incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the Hindu epic the Ramayana. This small temple is notable for the tiny erotic scenes on its roof struts; it looks as if the carver set out to illustrate 16 different positions, starting with the missionary position, and just about made it before running out of ideas (there's one particularly ambitious, back-bending position).
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Seto Machhendranath Temple
Southwest of Asan Tole, this important temple attracts both Buddhists and Hindus - Buddhists consider Seto (White) Machhendranath to be a form of Avalokiteshvara, while to Hindus he is a rain-bringing incarnation of Shiva. The temple's age is not known but it was restored during the 17th century. The arched entrance to the temple is marked by a small Buddha figure on a high stone pillar in front of two metal lions.
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Shiva-Parvati Temple
From the steps of the Maju Deval you can look across the square to the Shiva-Parvati Temple, where the much-photographed images of Shiva and his consort look out from the upstairs window on the comings and goings below them. The temple was built in the late 1700s by Bahadur Shah, the son of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Although the temple is not very old by Kathmandu standards, it stands on a two-stage platform, which may have been an open dancing stage hundreds of years earlier.
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Stone Inscription
On the outside of the palace wall, opposite the Vishnu Temple, is a long, low stone inscription to the goddess Kalika written in 15 languages, including one word of French. King Pratap Malla, renowned for his linguistic abilities, set up this inscription in 1664 and a Nepali legend relates that milk will flow from the spout in the middle if somebody is able to decipher all 15 languages!
