We entered the Patan Durbar/Palace through the Golden Gate, first to check out more courtyards, then to view the museum.
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| Close-up of carved woodwork |
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| Temple in Keshav Narayan Chowk/ Courtyard, which appeared to have a garland of pieces of animal skin |
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| Palace garden with a Shivalinga (lingam on a yoni) |
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| A trained bougainvillea "tree" |
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| A large open area behind the palace |
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| Kent with a sheep; perhaps herds were kept here? |
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| We were wary of the young bull |
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| Bhandarkhal Pokhari/pond or water tank |
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| Bhandarkhal Pokhari water spout with a relief of a makara/crocodile-like mythical beast |
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| Sundari Chowk/courtyard contains the Tusha Hiti/drinking fountain (1647) |
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| Tusha Hiti is surrounded by a pair of nagas/snakes and has 72 stone carved plaques of Buddhist Tantric deities |
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| The hiti was used by the kings for ritual ablutions |
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| The gilt copper spout features Vishnu with his consort, Lakshmi, riding on Garuda, the bird-man |
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| Quite a bit of carved woodwork in this courtyard |
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| Carving of Lord Kartikeya, god of war and son of Shiva and Parvati, who is holding weapons of war (KSS) |
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| Carving of Ganesh, the elephant god and a brother of Lord Kartikeya (KSS) |
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| Workers out in the open area behind the palace were propane-flame searing yak meat |
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| Yak giblets are soaking in this pot |
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| Patan Museum: Stone carving niche |
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| Examples of brass sculptures: Top row: Indra, god of rains and storms; Yama, a protector king with the face of a bull; Center: White Tara with Seven Eyes; Bottom row: Kali, an incarnation of Parvati (consort of Shiva); and Vajradaka, god of purification (KSS) |
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| Sacred bronze oil lamp |
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| An inscribed stone document recording a gift of pasture land |
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| Sculpture of Ganesha's transport, the Rat who holds a laddu/a sweet favored by Ganesha |
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| Rare ivory objects: Lion, hand mirror, and cosmetic box |
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| Hanu-Bhairava, a rare example of a composite god with Hanuman, the monkey god with additional animal heads, and Bhairava, an incarnation of Vishnu |
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| Throne of the Patan kings (1666) who were considered incarnations of Vishnu, thus they sit over a relief of Garuda, the bird-man transport; the entwined serpents have heads of the makara/crocodile-like mythical beast |
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| Classic Shakyamuni Buddha in a meditation pose (KSS) |
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| Silver sheathing (1931) of the Bagalamukhi Shrine |
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| Looking down on Keshav Narayan Chowk/courtyard |
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| Our next stop was a singing bowl shop, selling real bowls with the power to heal |
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| Annahid had a sore shoulder, but the bowl was hammered while traveling all across her back and shoulders |
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| A more systemic problem? Just stand in the bowl as Deb does |
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| Head problems? Esther tolerated the hum and vibration of the bowl; everyone felt different after treatment |
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| Suresh showed Tamiko how to play Bagh-chal, a Nepali game similar to checkers; see how many goats Tamiko has captured with her tiger! (KSS) |
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| The "real" singing/healing bowls cost hundreds of dollars, but came with their own cushions and mallets |
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| Leaving Durbar Square, passed a butcher with a goat's head |
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| Another butcher shop |
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| Pimbahal Pokhari/pond or water tank has recreational boating; a white Krishna Temple in the background (KSS) |
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| Different kinds of chips including cheese, spicy cheese, cheese banana, cheese banana hot, and is the last one "Lay's flavour"? |
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| This vendor is ready to fill the puchka or pani puri/a deep-fried hollow breaded shell |
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| This evening we were on our own for dinner; as there were no restaurants within walking distance, we used the hotel's patio restaurant to share curried meatballs, piece of Newari pancake, and oyster mushrooms ... |
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| ... and grilled lamb with chutney and fries |
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| Decadent chocolate dessert! |
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