We arrived in Bhaktapur, Nepal’s world heritage site, 2018 two years after a devastating earthquake. The reconstruction was still ongoing, but most of the work was completed. I centered my attention on a small temple surrounded by iconic symbols. The Dattatreya Temple pays homage to the God Dat- tatreya. She is the combination of three of the most excellent Gods of Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Dattatreya is depicted with all three heads. Their symbols reside on stelae in front of the tem- ple, including Lord Vishnu’s 3-pointed trident, the monk Garuda saying Namaste towards the temple, a conch shell symbolizing the sacred OM sound, and a chakra, a spiritual portal. The temple is small but majestic. The sculpture of a God can be found inside the center of the temple. The central space is only for the sculpture, not for people to enter. A door remains open to the sculpture. Live rams and stone guardians guard the temple at night. We discovered this temple on our first walk around
the complex at night. We heard chanting just beyond the open lattice wall. We were invited to enter and join along. It was a raw and thrill- ing adventure. The floor was a combination of stonework and yellow clay. Motorbikes kick up dust as they pass the tem- ple. Giant poles are holding up nearby build- ings due to earthquake damage. Within the compound of The World Heritage site are arti- sans as if caught in a time warp; I saw clay pots being thrown on the most significant stone hand-turned wheel I have ever seen, wood carving with hand tools, wooden hammers, and thangka painting on parchment scrolls. Thangka is a Tibetan painting using ground mineral pigment on cotton or silk, which is one of the principal meditational tools in Buddhist practice.
Temple Bahktapur, Nepal
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DATTATREYA TEMPLE
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