The Temple of Taleju Bhawani

The temples dedicated to the goddess Taleju Bhawani are presnt in all three towns of Kathmandu valley, i.e Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. The royal temple of goddess Taleju in Bhaktapur however is the oldest among the three. Taleju Bhawani was the clan goddess of Malla Kings. The temple is one-storeyed. The artworks found in the temple are regarded among best in Nepal. The temple square consists of two shrines for two female deities, Taleju Bhawani and Kumari. The temple of Taleju has always been one of Bhaktapur’s most sacred spots, traditionally closed to all but the reigning kings. The Taleju temple stands in the Mulchok Court. At present, only Hindus are allowed to go inside the temple and the goddess cannot be photographed.


Structure
The Golden gate leads to another entrance which ends in an open square. It is also the part of the palace. The main entrance door that leads to temple square is beautifully sculpted and so are the inside of the temples. It seems more time and care is given to upper part of the door while carving figures of deities just like in Nyatapola main entrance or the Golden Gate. Inside the temple, window, doors, struts are carved with images of various female deities. It is said that king Bhupatindra Malla himself carved one of the window. The square consists of two stone pillars, a four feet plinth, and a bell hanged in stone pillers. The sign of half moon is painted in the bell and the pillars. There are numerous doors on each four side and each door has sculpture of kalash, conch and eye on two adjacent sides. One of the door leads to a pond which is source of water for Naghpokhari “the royal bath”. The roof of the both temple is large as eleven spiers of equal size stand along the roof for the entire length of main shrine. The spire in the middle is little big then other spires.