Sankhu- A Historical and Spiritual City and Lifestyle - Chet Ram Paudel

Historical Background Although there is not any fixed date in the history ancient Shankarapur or Lawanyadesh was very found early age. According to Hindu as well as Buddha religion Brahma Vishnu the gods meditated at Mrigendra Shikhar So Bajrayoginee was emerged. On the otherhand Nhemuni, Devidas, Suryaketu, Bikramaditya, Dharmadatta also came to worship the goddes . The Buddhism believes Tara as source of power and yoginee the devotee or meditator. Hence The word yoginee was derived from yoga which was highlighted by patanjali around 150 BC. King Mandev erected the first statue of Bajrayoginee between 464 to 505 BC building Gunabihar. Later Shankhadev Settled the ancient city Shankharapur in 1801 kaligat sambat. Jogdev started to worship daily, then Bajrayoginee to the northside of the ancient city was established according to carving . Around periphery of Shankharapur the other dwelling places were set up they were named after Newari word . Nagacha, Gulima, Shasan, Chwabahi, Pawana, Gudekhya and Gagal Villages were also set up. Similarly Gubha, Itagu, Thugu, Salagu locality were named. Nowdays Telkot, Nagarkot, Dolagiri, Changu, Shivapuri, Manichud, Jhule, Pauwa, Palubari etc. are located around Shankharapur. The golden statue of Bajrayoginee was constructed in 1817 Kaligat Sambat according to the stone carving. The first priest Bachasiddhi Bajracharya started worshipping. The Jatra started in 1818 Kaligat Sambat as mentioned on stone pillar. There are about 108 names of goddess Bajrayoginee including NIl, Saraswati, Khadgayoginee, Dorjefam, Nawadurga, Dashmaha Vidya, Prajnaparamita etc. Different temples were built in the different era in dome style, shikhara style and pagoda style. The latest temple was built by Bhuwan Laxmi Malla. The mother of Bhaskar Malla on the memory of her husband. Different goddesses temples also were also built. Present Reality: The Life style and culture Now a days Shankharapur is called Sankhu Sakwa. It is said that the Malla King from Hanuman Dhoka used to conduct the Jatra. After unification in 1831 The King started to send Khadga as the representative which is still in existence. The Main Jatra falls in chaitra month. It is celebrated for 8 day . The statue of upper temple and stupa of Budha are carried on charriots and pulled around Sankhu. The statues are kept in the guest houses at every corner in a rotation. There are caves and Nhemuni, Saraswati temples in Bajrayoginee. On the otherhand there is a month long festival of Shalinadi in Magh month meditating Swasthani and worshipping lord Madhav Narayan. The devotes move around city as well as visit pashupatinath, pharping, panauti and changu with bare feet. The priests perform Ashwamedh yagyan on the final day and end . It is believed that the angels from the heaven visit the river to take a bath during the Maghmela period, conches are blown to avoid the evil spirits from Lawanyadesh (Sankhu) in the festival. Then salkha Mahadev on Shivaratri for Bhajan & worship to goddess Madhav Narayan. There are special days to clean the well . The wells of Sankhu are cleaned only on Sithinakha day. After worshipping the snakes and singing sinhajya in ropain rag. There is payajatra Khadgajatra which is performed from Taleju temple at night of Dashain. If we cultivate the ancient things there were many dances eg.Dunganach, Satalsingnach, Shikari nach which are performed from Dhalanko, Suntol, Inlatole, Pukhulachhi tole, similarly dogs dance maka pyakha, Jhyaure, dances, Khapykhan and Pardawal Pyakha have been disappeared from Sankhu. Any way we must preserve our historical and traditional values to identify ourselve . Mother and motherlands are the greater.