The Taleju Bhawani Temple at Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square in Kathmandu opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, October 20, on the occasion of Mahanawami, giving devotees their only opportunity of the year to enter one of the most revered shrines in the Kathmandu Valley. Located within the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square, the temple welcomed worshippers from 5 am to 6 pm, allowing them to offer prayers to Goddess Taleju on the ninth day of the Dashain festival. For the rest of the year, the temple remains closed to the general public, making the Mahanawami opening a unique date in the capital's religious calendar.
A once-a-year opening
The Taleju Bhawani Temple is traditionally opened to the public only once a year, and the annual opening coincides with Mahanawami, regarded as an especially auspicious day for the worship of the goddess. Devotees were permitted to enter the temple premises and offer prayers throughout the day, from early morning at 5 am until 6 pm in the evening, according to Khabarhub.
For many devotees in Kathmandu, the opening is a date marked well in advance. Because the temple stays closed for the remainder of the year, worship inside the sanctum is otherwise carried out by the temple's priests, and the Mahanawami opening offers the faithful a rare chance to pay their respects in person at the historic shrine.
Key details of this year's opening:
- Shrine: Taleju Bhawani Temple
- Location: Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square, Kathmandu
- Occasion: Mahanawami, the ninth day of the Dashain festival
- Opening hours: 5 am to 6 pm
- Public access: Once a year, on Mahanawami only
Seat of the goddess of the Malla kings
The temple's exclusivity is rooted in its history. The Taleju Bhawani Temple is dedicated to Goddess Taleju, revered as the tutelary deity of the Malla kings who ruled Kathmandu. The temple is believed to have been built by King Mahendra Malla in 1564, and with its tiered roofs rising above a tall stepped plinth, it remains one of the most imposing monuments in Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square. For centuries, it stood at the spiritual heart of the royal palace complex.
The goddess is also central to the tradition of the Kumari, the living goddess of Kathmandu. According to popular legend, Taleju is said to have appeared to a Malla king in human form, and after the king's indiscretion, the goddess declared that she would instead be worshipped in the body of a young girl - the origin of the Kumari tradition that continues to this day. This enduring bond between Taleju and the capital's religious life has kept the temple at the centre of Kathmandu's cultural identity for more than four centuries.
Mahanawami and the Dashain festival
Mahanawami, the ninth day of the fifteen-day Dashain festival, is one of the most important days of the Hindu calendar in Nepal. It is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga, and devotees across the country visit temples of the goddess, make offerings and observe rituals honouring the vehicles, tools and machinery used in daily life. In Kathmandu, the opening of the Taleju Bhawani Temple on this day draws particular attention, as it combines the national festival with a tradition specific to the old royal palace.
The extended opening hours, from 5 am to 6 pm, gave devotees the whole of Tuesday to complete their worship. The temple will now remain closed to the public until the next Mahanawami, when the annual tradition is expected to be observed once again.
A landmark within a World Heritage site
Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square is one of the seven monument zones of the Kathmandu Valley inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. The square served as the royal seat of the Malla kings of Kathmandu and later of the Shah dynasty, and it remains a dense ensemble of palaces, courtyards, statues and temples built over centuries. The Taleju Bhawani Temple, standing on the northern side of the square, is among its most recognisable structures.
Several monuments in the square sustained damage in the 2015 earthquake, and restoration work has continued in the years since, underlining the site's importance to Nepal's cultural heritage. Against this backdrop, the annual opening of the Taleju Bhawani Temple on Mahanawami preserves a living tradition that links the capital's medieval past with the religious life of the present, even as the temple closes its doors to the public once more until next year.
