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चाँगुनारायण मन्दिर
Bhaktapur, Bagmati · 27.7160°, 85.4280°
The oldest attested temple site of Nepal, crowning a ridge east of Kathmandu: King Manadeva's 464 CE Garuda pillar inscription is the country's earliest written document, and the courtyard is an open-air museum of Licchavi sculpture — including a celebrated Vishnu Vishvarupa and the kneeling Garuda said to bear Manadeva's own features. Restored after the 2015 earthquake.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
A brahmin's cow grazing at Champak grove gave no milk; watching, he saw a dark boy emerge from a tree to drink it. He felled the tree — blood flowed, revealing Vishnu, who confessed to slaying a brahmin unknowingly and accepted worship here in expiation.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Licchavi
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…