RudrakshaRudraksha (IAST: ) refers to the dried stones or seeds of the genus Elaeocarpus specifically, Elaeocarpus ganitrus. These stones serve as prayer beads for Hindus (especially Shaivas), Buddhists and Sikhs. When they are ripe, rudraksha stones are covered by an inedible blue outer fruit so they are sometimes called "blueberry beads". The stones are associated with the Hindu deity Shiva and are commonly worn for protection and for chanting mantras such as Om Namah Shivaya (ॐ नमः शिवाय; ).
South AsiaSouth Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethnic-cultural terms. As commonly conceptualised, South Asia consists of the countries predominantly Afghanistan Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian subcontinent and defined largely by the Indian Ocean in the south, and the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Pamir mountains in the north. The Amu Darya, which rises north of the Hindu Kush, forms a part of the northwestern border.
SwayambhunathSwayambhu (Devanagari: स्वयम्भू स्तूप; Nepal bhasa: स्वयंभू; sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie: Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shingun may be of in Nepalbhasa name for the complex, Swayambhu, meaning 'self-sprung'. For the Buddhist Newars, in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice Swayambhu occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among sites.
Kathmandu ValleyThe Kathmandu Valley (काठमाडौं उपत्यका), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः), is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayan mountains in Nepal. It lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of the Indian subcontinent and the broader Asian continent, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists. There are seven World Heritage Sites within the valley.
PashupatiPashupati (Sanskrit: Paśupati; Devanagari: पशुपति ) is a Hindu deity and an incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva as "Lord of the animals". Pashupati is mainly worshipped in Nepal and India. Pashupati is also the national deity of Nepal. Paśupati or Pashupatinath, means "Lord of all animals". It also was the epithet of Rudra in the Vedic period. and it is one of the epithets of Shiva also. Paśu could also refer to the Pāśupatāstra, a celestial weapon used by Shiva, so another possible interpretation is "Wielder of the Pāśupatāstra".
LingamA lingam (लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary murti or in Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva, also found in smaller shrines, or as self-manifested natural objects. It is often represented within a disc-shaped platform, the yoni – its feminine counterpart, consisting of a flat element, horizontal compared to the vertical lingam, and designed to allow liquid offerings to drain away for collection.
Newar peopleNewar (nɪˈwɑr; नेवार, endonym: Newa; नेवा, Pracalit script: ) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Newars form a linguistic and cultural community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Nepal Bhasa as their common language. Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilisation not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills.
KathmanduKathmandu, officially Kathmandu Metropolitan City, is the capital and most populous city of Nepal with 845,767 inhabitants living in 105,649 households as of the 2021 Nepal census and 2.9 million people in its urban agglomeration. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley, a large valley in the high plateaus in central Nepal, at an altitude of . The city is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, founded in the 2nd century AD.
PagodaA pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, and were often located in or near viharas. The pagoda traces its origins to the stupa while its design was developed in ancient Nepal. Chinese pagodas () are a traditional part of Chinese architecture.
Hindu templeA Hindu temple, or mandir, devasthana, pura, gudi, koil or kovil in various languages, is a structure designed to bring Hindus and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion, thought of as the house of the god to whom it is dedicated. The symbolism and structure of a Hindu temple are rooted in Vedic traditions, deploying circles and squares. It also represents recursion and the representation of the equivalence of the macrocosm and the microcosm by astronomical numbers, and by "specific alignments related to the geography of the place and the presumed linkages of the deity and the patron".
