सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Bhadgaon. It is believed that bathing in the Kalhacha Pukhu (pond) located in Chupingghat of Bhaktapur Municipality-5 will cure ulcers.
During the time when there was no running water in the houses, the locals of Gahiti, Tamari, Khanla and Aardash used to bathe in the Kalhacha Pukhu, wash their faces, offer tarpan, and offer water to the gods and goddesses and visit Champakeshwar Mahadev.
There is a religious belief that bathing in the ancient Dhalcha Pukhu (Kaldaha Pokhari) located near Indrayani Peeth to the south of the Bhaktapur Industrial Area will provide the same benefits as bathing in Gosai Kund.
Local Laxminarayan Pakka said that there is a religious belief that bathing in the Dhalcha Pukhu, which is considered a symbol of Gosaikunda, and offering water to the Lord there will cure headaches and skin diseases. A big fair is held here on the day of Janai Purnima.
Similarly, it is believed that if a child is bathed and washed in the Dumaj Pukhu located inside the Khwap Laiku Durbar (Durbar area) of Bhaktapur on Sundays and Thursdays, it will cure indigestion and stomach aches. According to 74-year-old local Budhilal Suwal, there is a tradition of using the water of this Pukhu daily for cleaning the Dumaju premises.
Not only Kalhacha Pukhu, Dhalcha Pukhu and Dumaju Pukhu in Bhaktapur city, which is known as the city of Pukhu, but most of the Pukhu are related to some religious-cultural and treatment of diseases. Out of the four dozen Pukhu in the city, about two dozen Pukhu are considered very important in religious and cultural terms.
There are very beautiful and enchanting Pukhu built in different periods that have religious and cultural beliefs, carry history, are built to cure diseases, enhance the beauty and splendor of the city, produce lotus flowers, bring peace to the mind during difficult times in human life, and are also used in times of disaster and other emergencies.
Archaeologist, historian and cultural expert Prof. Dr. Purushottam Lochan Shrestha said that the Pukhu:s were built in Bhaktapur to reflect religious and cultural importance as well as for the national interest.
He said that it was built to make it easier for the helpless and disabled who cannot go on pilgrimages to distant places to bathe and worship at their own place.
One of such Pukhu:s is Siddha Pokhari located in Bhaktapur Municipality-1, Dudhpati. Siddha Pokhari, also known as Pukhu among the locals, has become an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists during the day and serves as a religious pilgrimage site for local residents in the morning.
The tradition of local elders coming to the pond in the morning to wash their faces and offering the water of the pond to the deity Mahadev and offering darshan is still going on today, says 65-year-old local Bishnu Prasad Khatri.
Siddha Pokhari is known as a unique example of secular architecture. On the east side of this pond, there is a statue of the oldest Varah and Ganesh in Nepal.
There is a Shivalinga and a chaitya there as a unique example of religious harmony and harmony. This chaitya is considered to be of the Lichchhavi period. According to Prof. Dr. Shrestha, it is named Siddha Pokhari because it is a huge pond built in the Siddha Tantric era according to the Vastu Tantra method.
The construction of the Tripura Palace in the center of the capital city, which established Bhaktapur as the capital city around 238 Nepal Sambat, and the decoration of the city with unique artworks was done during the reign of King Anandadev. It is mentioned in history that Siddha Pokhari was built some time before that by Anandadev’s brother, Crown Prince Indradev.
According to popular belief, this Daha is also called Indradaha because it is considered a symbol of the Daha in which the god Indra bathed. In the Indradaha complex, there are statues of gods and goddesses of Shaiva, Shakti, Buddhist, Vaishnava, and Sampradaya sects from the Lichchhavi period to the Malla period.
It is believed that offering water to the Shivalinga there will cure throat ailments.
There is a tradition of performing a Khat Jatra of Goddess Indrayani on the eve of the Punhi festival and worshipping the goddess to the west of Indradaha. It is believed that if you take a bath in the river and worship Indrayani on the day of Punhi, you will attain great merit and bring happiness and prosperity to your family.
It is believed that the serpent Vasuki resides in Indradaha. Therefore, when planting is delayed due to lack of rain, the local residents of Bhaktapur still have a tradition of going to Indradaha, worshiping Vasuki Naga through Tantric methods and asking for water saying, “Har Har Mahadev, give me water, not just a little, give me more.”
The three-day Ya Mata (sky lamp) that is taken out during Indra Jatra in Bhaktapur is still celebrated by performing Parikrama at the Pukhu after the city parikrama.
The Ya Mata of the first day completes the parikrama at the Yatu Bahare (lotus pond) of Kamal Vinayak. The Ya Mata of the second day completes the parikrama at the Mugthau Pukhu of Jhaukhel. The Ya Mata of the third day completes the parikrama at the Siddha Pokhari.
Similarly, on the Samyak Mahadan celebrated in Bhaktapur on Magh 1 every year, it is customary to cook the sesame seeds offered to the Dwipankar Buddha with the water of Na:Pukhu located in Itachne.
The Samyak Mahadan festival is celebrated in the premises of Na:Pukhu. Among the various beautiful man-made ponds in Bhaktapur, the most important one is the Sundar Pukhu. In the middle of the Pukhu is the beautiful Jaleshwor temple built in the Shikhar style. This Pukhu was built in the name of Bhaju Kas, a powerful ruling class of the 12th century, and it is called the Sundar Pukhu, said Prada Shrestha.
Bhaktapur Municipality-1 Sallaghari Rani Pukhu:, Kamalvinaya Yatu Bahare Pukhu:, Siddha Pukhu:, Vajya Pukhu:, etc. The local Newar community of Bhaktapur has installed the ancestral deities on the banks or premises of the ponds.
The tradition of holding a family worship and feasting on the banks of those ponds on one day of the year is still alive today. The main purpose of installing the ancestral deity near the pond is to bathe the ancestral deity in the holy water in the pond and worship it.
Another reason for installing the ancestral deities near the ponds is to instill a sense of national defense by observing the security of the city borders at least once a year, Shrestha said.
Since ancient times, Pukhu has been created to provide peace and happiness to the people not only religiously and culturally, but also mentally. The ponds of Bhaktapur have shown how much the environment can cure diseases in people.
The ponds were also built as natural water storage facilities so that water could be used in difficult situations in human life such as drought and famine. The water from those ponds has been used in emergencies during disasters such as fires and irrigation.
The Lichchhavi king Anandadev, who founded the city of Bhaktapur, had built various ponds during the construction of the city. Along with this, it is mentioned in history that many ponds were built during the Malla period.
In Bhaktapur, which is rich in religion and culture, ponds have also been built for the lotus flower, which is indispensable for many festivals. It is mentioned in history that the outdoor ponds of Kamalvinayak in the city, the Narka outdoor ponds in Byasi for the worship of Taleju Bhavani, the Paleshwan outdoor ponds, and the outdoor ponds of Yata were built for the lotus flower.
Since water is life, it has been used in every neighborhood of the city to bathe, wash clothes, wash vegetables, feed livestock, wash hands and feet, wash dishes, and wash tools while returning home after agricultural work.
Similarly, the ponds were built to become economically strong through fish farming and to develop it as a destination for external and internal tourists. The Pukhu here is also a model of the unique skills of science, technology and engineering of that time.
The shadow of the famous Nyatpol (five-storeyed) temple, located about one kilometer west of the Khacha Pukhu of Bhaktapur Municipality-8, is clearly visible. The Pukhu using such engineering technology can be considered a truly excellent model.
Recently, most of the Pukhu have been revived with the help of Bhaktapur Municipality and the labor of locals. Siddhapokhri, Rani Pokhari, Vegeta Pukhu:, Kaldah, Dumaju Pukhu:, Mangal Kund, Kumari Pukhu:, Garudkund, Sala Ganesh Pukhu:, Nag Pukhu:, Na:pukhu have been reconstructed. Bahare, Tilancha Pukhu:, Khorcha and Khore Pukhu: Markande Pukhu:, Aligcha Pukhu: including nearly a dozen Pukhu: have become extinct.
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