Nepal Day 11 Pashupati Nath Temple

Monday May 4^th

I got off to a slow start this morning, reading and typing. But, finally I got up and out by about ten, and headed for a walk. Then I hailed a cab and told him I wanted to go to Pashupati Nath Temple. I had set out with two destinations in mind, this temple and Boughanath Stupa. Both are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

After driving through the chaotic and winding streets of Kathmandu we arrived at the temple. The cabbie said he'd wait for me and take me back. I explained that I was going to the stupa afterwards, so he said no problem, he'd wait and take me there. I told him I'd be a couple of hours. He still wanted to wait! So, we arranged that he'd bring me here, take me to the stupa and then back to the hotel. He wouldn't even take any money when I went in... strange and trusting.

As soon as I got in and paid my admission, a local guide began talking to me. Pedro (from my tour group) had been here before and said that a guide was useful, so I listened. He had good information and a nice personality, so I hired him. His name is Deepak. He gave me an hour tour of the site and told me more information than I can possibly remember. Here goes:

This temple is the the major cremation site for Hindus in Kathmandu. The first thing we saw was three young boys taking a coffin away across the river. Deepak explained that the body had been brought from out of town in the casket to be cremated here, as this is one of the holiest cremation places in Nepal. The body is removed from the casket and the casket is discarded. The boys claim it and sell it somewhere else, nothing here goes to waste apparently. Even the clothes that are taken off the bodies and thrown in the river are reclaimed by others. Any wood that is used for the cremations and is not burned completely, is recycled as well, fished out of the river and taken by young men to another site where they use it for baking bricks. Plus, other boys were throwing magnets tied to string in the river, trolling for coins that mourners have thrown in the river as offerings. Deepak said that this illustrates the circle of life, with dead bodies being cremated and boys and others salvaging from the river. He also pointed out that death and disposing of the body is very public in Hinduism and very private in Christianity.

The river is very low and polluted, because it is not the rainy season. During the monsoon some of the pollution is washed down river where it eventually finds its way to the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. After the cremation, which takes about three hours, all the leftover wood and ashes are dumped into the river. The colour of the river is horrible and there is lots of garbage and debris floating in it. So, it is alarming to see the boys wading in it and fishing things out of it.

As we watched a man of about thirty or forty was being prepared for cremation. We were standing about ten metres away and up a set of stairs. The body was on a platform right at the water's edge. His brothers carried his cloth draped body to the pyre which was already prepared with wood. The widow and other women came and cried and then after the women left, one of the brothers placed a burning piece of wood on the dead man's mouth. Deepak explained that this was part of the cleansing process of cremation. He said that most of the bad things we do in life come from the mouth, so it needs to be cleansed. He explained that cremation returns the five elements of life back to the earth: water (the fluids from our bodies and our blood), fire (the heat from our bodies), air (the air we breathe and have in us), space (the space we take up) and earth (what we are made from which becomes ashes and returned to earth). After that the priests piled more wood on the body and ignited a number of spots to start the cremation. Then they covered the body with wet straw which keeps the heat in, doesn't burn and causes a lot of smoke.

Around the site there are a number of Shadu, or holy men, who have given up all things in life to make themselves holier. Deepak told me that Hindus believe in reincarnation but don't want to be reincarnated. If their karma is not good when they die, they are reincarnated as an animal form. Animals can't have good karma, because they don't chose to be good, they just are what they are. Therefore, when the animal dies, it will probably be reincarnated as another type of animal. This might go on for several times before the spirit gets another chance to be human. Therefore, Hindus believe when they are human they need to be good and raise their karma and achieve enlightenment and go to heaven. Then they don't have to be reincarnated. They want to break the cycle. This is what the Shadu are doing too, by rejecting all of life's trappings and rejecting everything except their religion, they can break the cycle and achieve enlightenment. However, it's interesting that they dress in what I consider to be outlandish outfits and wear lots of makeup. The more outlandish they look, the more the tourists want to take their photos, and the money they charge the tourist to take the photo! Seems like they haven't rejected all things from this world. Shadus also don't get cremated as they are already deemed to be pure enough to go straight to heaven (as are children under two).

Deepak led me up river a bit to another cremation site. The stone platform was decorated with lots of flowers, and there were many people there. The body was brought in on the wooden carrying platform by six men, who I thought were monks, as they were dressed in a white 'toga' and had their heads shaved. Turns out they were the six sons of the dead man, and when your father dies you have to have your head shaved. As we watched them cremate him, we noticed a camera crew there, so it was obvious this was an important man. The members of the royal family, rich and important people are cremated right in front of the temple, poor people further downstream. The site also has a hospice where terminally ill people from around the city are brought to, so they can die on the banks of the river and be cremated there. This usually happens within two hours of death.

(Deepak and Anil, I hope I got most of this right, there was a lot to remember!)

Deepak left me after the hour tour and I wandered around some more as this is a fascinating place. I watched some rheseus monkeys and spent some time stalking and trying to photograph Shadus. Then I left and found my taxi driver. He drove me to Boudhanath Stupa. This is a Buddhist temple and another UNESCO site. The temple is round and the street around it is too, and is lined with tourist shops and restaurants. This stupa is very similar to the one I saw in Kathmandu the first day I arrived.

I stayed there for an hour of so, and then had my taxi driver take me back to the hotel. All in all a fascinating day. I spent the rest of the day typing, and having dinner in the hotel restaurant before retiring.