Taleju Bhavani Devi

Taleju Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Taleju Bhawani, the royal goddess of the Malla dynasty of Nepal. It was built in 1564 by Mahendra Malla and is located in Hanuman Dhoka, Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside the temple, there is a shire dedicated to Taleju Bhawani, and Kumari Devi. Taleju Temple is only opened once a year on the occasion of Dashain.

Goddess Taleju Bhawani is the patron deity of Newari Hindus in the Kathmandu valley. The goddess was brought to the Kathmandu Valley in the 14th century by King Harisiṃha Deva, a Karṇāṭa king of Tirhut, who was driven out of his kingdom in 1325 by Muslim armies. Harisiṃha installed Goddess Taleju, who became the house-goddess of the Malla royal family, as evidenced by two Sanskrit texts, Talejvāgama and Tulyāgama, which are the property of the Rājopādhyāyas of Bhaktapur and Patan. She remained the tutelary deity for the Malla Kings in all three kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur and her temple is the most important in each city. Of the three temples dedicated to Taleju Bhawani in Nepal, the oldest one is in Bhaktapur — in fact, they are built at the same height so she has no problems flying from one to the next!

The Golden Gateway (Sun Dhoka) is covered with gilt-copper sculptures and was erected by Ranjit Malla in 1753–54, dedicated to the goddess Taleju. At the centre of the metal gate or tōraṇa is an eight-headed and three-armed form of Taleju, above her is a heavy frame containing Garuḍa, Nāgas and floral motifs. Running down either side of the door are figures of deities including an emaciated Goddess Kāli, and in the top corners of the inner frame are two makaras. On either side of the Golden Gate are large copperplate inscriptions.