Taleju Temple Of Dolakha Town

As said by historian Baburam Acharya, “If the history of Dolakha is not linked, the history of the Malla period of Kathmandu valley becomes incomplete." The cultural traditions are also linked with the history of the valley. Hence, at the outset, it is desirable to know the origin of Taleju Bhawani, the family deity of the Malla kings. 

There are conflicting views among historians regarding the installation of Taleju. Some hold the view that after the death of king Harisingh Deva of Simroangadh, Rudra Malla, one of the joint rulers of Kathmandu valley at the time, gave asylum to his queen Dewaldevi and son in his palace in Bhaktapur, the capital of the valley at that time. Dewaldevi installed the Kalash of Taleju Bhawani brought with her in the palace. 

Dr. D. R. Regmi, on the other hand, writes: Harisingh Deva, the king of Simroangadh (from 1304–25 A.D.), after conquering Kathmandu Valley in 1314 A.D., installed the image of Tulaja Bhawani he had brought from Simroangadh and built a beautiful temple. From that time on, Taleju Bhawani became the dearest goddess to the kings of Nepal. Harisingh Deva had also introduced the practice of worshipping one's ancestral god once a year. Both of these practices are still in vogue in Nepal.

 Evidence shows that the latter kings, including King Prithvi Narayan Shah, were also devotees of Taleju Bhavani. Sushila Manandhar, thus, writes (The Royal Devotion to Deity Taleju): "It is clear that the royal family of Nepal, whether it be the Lichhivis, the Mallas, or the Shahs, were all devotees of the Taleju Bhavani.”

Contrary to the above versions, some scholars like Tirthalal Naghavani with proofs argue that “Harisingh Dev had not brought Taleju to Bhaktapur (Nepal), but Taleju is a royal deity of Nepal from the Licchivis’ period. The traditional royal deity has been called Taleju from the Malla period. Mary Slusser has a similar view regarding the Taleju of Nepal (Bhaktapur). She states that “Manesvari and Taleju have different names for the same goddess, who plays the same role as the most usual personal deity for the royal dynasties of Nepal, like the personal deity of the Lichhivis and the lineage deity of the Mallas.”

 Origin 

In Dolakha town, there is a two-story small house-shaped temple known as Rajkuleswor or Taleju Bhawani. As the name suggests, Taleju Bhawani is the family deity (Rajuleswor) of the kings of Dolakha. The date of its establishment is unknown. The historians Dhan B. Vajracharya and Tek. B. Shrestha opine that Taleju Bhawani of Dolakha might have been built only after King Shiva Singh Malla conquered Dolakha. After Shiva Singh ascended on the throne of Kantipur in 1578, he first annexed Lalitpur and then conquered Dolakha and brought them under the control of Kantipur. He expanded the kingdom of Kantipur after NS 715, which included Lalitpur, Dolakha, Listi, and Kerung, among others. Hence the temple of Dolakha seems to have been installed only after N.S. 715. Purshotam. L. Shrestha supports this view when he writes, “It is obvious that the Malla kings, at that time, used to establish their Esta devata Taleju in those places where they had their authority. Taleju Bhawani temples had been installed by kings of all four Newar kingdoms of the Malla period, with Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, and Dolakha as their royal deities. 

Puja rituals 

The evidence of Taleju Bhawani being treated as a royal deity is found even today in Dolakha. By tradition, only a person having Dikshya who belongs to ‘Six Thari’ of the Newar community is allowed to worship in Taleju Bhavani. Women are not allowed to enter the temple.

Chautaria Bam Shah, during the reign of King Sri 5 Rana Bahadur Shah on 13 January 1859 B.S., issued a letter granting Vidyananda Upadhyay the right to perform the daily worship of Taleju temple, granting lands as well. Accordingly, Joshi families, descendants of Vidyananda Upadhyay, have been performing daily worship at Taleju Bhawani since 1859 B.S. Appointing a scholarly Upadhayay or Joshi Brahmin with Dikshya as priest for daily worship in Taleju temple is not unique to Dolakha. However, the Pradhan family, said to be the descendants of King Shri Govind Dev Singh, the ruler of Dolakha, performs daily worship for ten days from Ghatasthapana to Purne of Dashain by establishing goddess Durga.

 Taleju during Jatra

Taleju Bhawani being the family deity of the kings, no one is allowed to enter the temple. However, on certain occasions, Rajkuloswor temple becomes the centre of activity. Unlike in the valley, the Ghantakarna festival takes place only in Rajkuleswor. First, an effigy of the Ghantakarna demon with his face painted on a Nanglo is fed biten rice with curd and then killed by hitting his head by Khukuri. Then, the corpse of the demon is dragged to the west to immerse in a stream. A goat is sacrificed in the Taleju temple on that evening. 

Bada Dashain Taleju temple becomes the centre of festival activity. On the day of Ghatasthapana, the first Sankalpa puja is performed in the name of the king jointly by Guthiyar, Brahmin, Joshi, ward chief, and priest. Then they go to Ganesh temple to sacrifice goats. In Rajkuleswor, the same people establish Kalash as Nawadurga and worship the goddess. They sow seeds of barley to grow jamara, which is used as a flower on the day of Tika. Worshipping Kalash as Nawadurga seems to be an age-old tradition, as Lilabhakta Munkarmi writes: "The Lichhivi kings had been worshipping Durga Bhawani as their main powerful deity, Ista debata." 

On the day of Saptami, Fulpati, consisting of a head of a goat sacrificed in Bhimeswor, a banana tree trunk, fruits, and plants of ginger and turmeric carried by a Guthiyar and a member of the Joshi family on a Doli, is brought to Rajkuleswor. Maharatri puja on the day of Astami and Kalratri puja on the day of Nawami are performed at midnight by sacrificing goats to the deities.

On the day of Dashami celebrated as the day of Tika, there used to be a unique Hipathami Jatra in the past. Hipathami, after drinking the blood of the buffalo sacrificed to Bhairab in Tripurasundari temple, would come to Rajkuleswor. When Hipathamis reach Rajkuleswar, the Mahane worships them, massages oil and vermilion, and ties Feta around their heads. Then, out of the bundle of flaming wicks given by Mahane, they throw one each in front, back, left, and right sides of themselves. It’s amazing that they keep the remaining flaming wicks inside their mouth and proceed towards Chakra Dabali of Bahir Tole.

 After this, the above-mentioned group of people perform Sankalp puja in the name of the king. Then the priest worships the main deity, Bhairav and Nawadurga, and thereafter Tika is put on each other. This group, except the priest, takes a round of Dolakha town, playing traditional music, and puts Tika on the foreheads of people waiting on two sides of the road. This act is called “Tika Fukaune,” which means that the people of Dolakha town area were allowed to put tika in their “Dekutha” (family deities) and at their houses only after finishing tika in the royal deity. On the night of Ekadashi, those participating in Khadga Jatra from Rajkuleswor assemble there and strike on an ice gourd (kubhindo), by khadga turn by turn, wherein the demon is supposed to be hiding. It is interesting to note that all the above-mentioned rituals are conducted by playing traditional music. 

Khadga Jatra is the main Jatra of Dolakha that takes place on the day of Ekadashi. Khadga Jatra, though celebrated in Newar settlements of Kathmandu Valley as well, is quite unique and elaborate in Dolakha. This Jatra depicts the war between gods and devils. This Jatra begins from Rajkuleswor. The day-long Jatra goes around the town and finally returns to Rajkuleswor. During Jatra, special traditional music is played by a music group, which is joined by those singing hymns from Dungal Tole. 

While entering Rajkuleswor Khados (warriors), strike on an ice gourd kept there, assuming that the demon might be hiding inside. In the evening, the priest of Tripurasundari and Batuk Bhairab, as well as Tripurasundari and her son, and the priest of Rajkuleswor, meet in front of the temple. They put Tika on each other and offered gifts to each other.

Similarly, in Chaite Dashain, on the day of Mahashtami, the above-mentioned group goes to the Ganesh temple and performs the invocation (Nimantrana) puja according to traditional rituals. After that, all return to Rajkuleswar and then go to Bhimeshwar temple to perform puja.

(The author is an expert on Nepali culture.)