Sorah Hattey Ganesh, Lord Ganesh with sixteen hands is housed in a one-storey Gambuj (dome-style) temple at Bhotahity, the main market area in the heart of Kathmandu. This elephant-headed god’s temple was established by the Malla king Pratap Malla, carved as one of it’s finest during his regime. After the King built Bishnu Tirtha, which is now called Rani Pokhari (The Queen’s Pond), he divined the Bishnu Tirtha by Tantric powers to install four deities on the four corners of the pond. The western corner is Ganesh Pond.
This idol of Ganesh with sixteen hands is rare in Nepal depicts him in a Tantric form. He is seen with his wife Riddhi on his left hence he is also called Riddhi Ganesh. According to some religious text, Ganesh is Bhramachari or unmarried and according to others He is married to Riddhi (Prosperity) and Siddi (Spiritual Power), His two powers.
They are alternatively also known as Karnakeshari and Suvarna Keshari, and have been worshiped separately by Newars, Kathamandu natives. These names are almost lost from the vernacular, but still used in Harisiddhi dance, the first mask dance of the country to venerate the Goddess Durga. She is Tri-Shakti, the embodiment of the feminine force, the divine mother, the energy that gives us all life. It is said that Pratap Malla lost his life while witnessing the Harisiddhi dance in 1731 B.S.
3 comments
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