The Wonderful Courtyards

Aashish Mishra

Hanumandhoka is a place of wonder and intrigue. Home to the monarchs of two dynasties, Malla and Shah, and the seat of the royals for centuries, the Hanumandhoka Durbar contains many exquisite structures and elements found nowhere else in Nepal and the world; one such element being its chowks (courtyards). While in the past, presumably when it was still the official residence of the country’s royal family, the Hanumandhoka palace complex is said to have had 35 big and small courtyards. But today it has only 11. Nevertheless, each of these 11 yards is a marvellous masterpiece of Malla, Shah and Rana architecture and displays unique culture and practices of the Kathmandu Valley.

The largest among these courtyards is the Nasal Chowk, the first space people see when entering the Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum from the famous Hanuman-guarded door. Nasal Chowk gets its name from the Nasa Dya (Natyeshwor) statue placed in a temple on the eastern side of the yard. Natyeshwor is the dancing form of Shiva and its establishment here signals that this area was used for performances in the Malla era. The official website set up for Hanumandhoka by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation also states that this yard was where the Malla kings used to hold public meetings and receive foreign dignitaries. From the time of Prithvi Narayan Shah though, Nasal Chowk became the site for the coronation of kings.

North of the Nasal Chowk is the beautiful Mohankali Chowk, built by Pratap Malla in the 17th century as his living quarters. This Chowk is believed to hold special Tantric powers and only the royal child born on this premises was considered worthy of the throne. According to tales still told in Kathmandu today, one of the reasons Jaya Prakash Malla, the last Malla king of independent Kathmandu, lost his throne to Prithvi Narayan Shah was because he was not born in this sacred courtyard.

At the centre of the Mohankali Chowk is a beautiful golden water spout that features multiple animals “flowing” outward with the water. Below the spout is an image of a man believed to be Bhagirath who brought Ganga down to earn from the heavens. The western wing of the chowk also contains a life-size image of Mohankali, which is a monolithic image of the eight mother goddesses (Astamatrika).

North of the Mohankali Chowk is the Sundar, or Sundari, Chowk built by Pratap Malla for his queens. Malla built it a year after the Mohankali Chowk as a smaller replica of it. It also has the golden spout featuring almost the same animals in the same way. It also has the same architectural feel. One thing that is different though is that this quadrangle contains a large stone sculpture featuring a boy Lord Krishna subduing the poisonous Kaliya Naag of the Yamuna River. Hanumandhoka authorities claim this statue, found by Pratap Malla while travelling around the outskirts of Kathmandu, to be one of a kind in the Indian subcontinent.

The Hanumandhoka palace area has strange magic to it in that it never feels lifeless. Even when empty, the palace grounds still feel vibrant. But there is one place in the complex where this vibrancy gives way to serenity and time seems to hold still – the Mul Chowk. Mul, in Nepali meaning main, almost feels like a whole different world, away from the hustle and bustle of life and its worries. Perhaps that is why the Malla kings preferred to use this plaza, and not the other larger and more exuberant ones, for their functions such as the coronation, weddings and coming-of-age ceremonies.

To the north of the Mul Chowk is the special Trishul (trident) Chowk with the famous Taleju Bhawani Temple. This yard is opened to the public during Dashain.

Speaking of Dashain, there is also a courtyard in Hanumandhoka dedicated to the festival, rather straightforwardly named Dashain Chowk. The Dashain Chowk is where the Dashain Ghar stands where the Shah kings used to plant wheatgrass for their Dashain ceremonies. Those who enter this yard will also see a well which is a source of pure water for the worship of Taleju Bhawani.

Located south of the Mul Chowk is the Lohan Chowk which the Shah kings used as their residence within the Hanumandhoka Palace. King Prithvi Narayan Shah had the Chowk built because he did not wish to live on the same premises, which is the Mohankali Chowk, as his predecessors, whom he felt were now his inferiors. The ‘Lohan’ in Lohan Chowk is a Nepal Bhasa word which means stone, perhaps alluding to the stone that paves this yard.

Dakh Chowk, Masan Chowk, Nhula Chhen and Bayu Chowk are other important courtyards of Hanumandhoka.