Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath ( self created) is located at the west of Kathmandu. Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple.

Swayambhunath is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal.. It was was founded by the great-grandfather of King Mandev  (464-505 CE), King Varsadev, about the beginning of the 5th century CE. It is said that Emperor Ashoka had visited this site in the third century BC and built a temple on the hill which was later destroyed.

The earliest written record of the Swayambunath Stupa's existence is a 5th-century stone inscription, but some scholars believe that the shrine here can be as early as the 1st century or even before that.

Story of Swayambhunath

 Kathmandu Valley was filled with a great lake. According to Buddhist legend, a single perfect lotus grew in the center of the lake. When the bodhisattva Manjusri drained the lake with a slash of his sword, the lotus flower settled on top of the hill and magically transformed into the stupa. Thus it is known as the Swayambhu (Self-Created).