Bhimeshwor temple (also popularly known as Dolakha Bhimsen temple), is a popular site located at Bhimeshwor municipality in Dolakha district of Bagmati province. It is the of paramount importance to the local people as it is regarded as the oldest temple in Dolakha district & a whole municipality is named after it. This temple is about 136 km east from Kathmandu valley & can be easily reached using private vehicles or local buses. This unique temple is a roofless structure that features a triangular statue of Bhimsen in the center. Bhimsen is a Hindu God who is the second prince among the Panch Pandavs and is mainly worshiped by businessmen and traders as Lord Bhimsen is considered as the God of will and determination. One of the major mystical power of this Temple is that it is believed to indicate any unfortunate event before occurring.
The statue in this temple has been believed to resemble three Hindu Gods; Lord Bhimsen, God Shiva and Goddess Bhagawati. These three deities are worshipped three times in a day according to their own pleasing preference& is believed to be the triplex source of divinity.
History:
There is a popular belief that the Panch Pandavs spent the period of their exile at Dolakha during the Dwapar Yug. This temple is dedicated to the second price among the Panch Pandavs, Bhimsen. According to the popular myth, centuries ago, 12 porters traveling somewhere stopped at this location and lingered to build three stone stoves to cook rice in the midst of their journey. On checking after some time, only half of the rice was properly cooked while the other half remained totally uncooked. When the brother moved the cooked rice towards the alternate side, the fully cooked rice again becomes uncooked as a result of contact with a black triangular stone. One of the porters became enraged and struck the stone with his ladle(puneu), as a result of which he stone shattered and started bleeding blood-splattered milk. The porters immediately came to realize that the stone belonged to Lord Bhimsen & a temple was built as a tribute and devotion to him.
According to another legend, the Bhimeshwor Shivapuran, God Brahma blessed the Kingdom of Bhima. The people of Bhima’s kingdom had lived a sorrowful life; they prayed to God Shiva to save their lives. Lord Shiva descended from the Gaurishanker Mountains and assassinated King Bhima. Following Bhima’s death, a statue of Bhimeshwor was erected at that location and named Bhimeshwor.
Mystical Force:
It is strongly believed by Nepalese people that this temple has a mystical force that has the ability to indicate any misfortunate events, deep political changes and disasters. This mystical force is said to be derived from Lord Bhimsen himself in order to protect his people. Sweating of the idol in this temple is reported to be the major indication of such unfortunate events. Some of these miraculous signals are its sweating during Anti rana movement in 1880, before the royal massacre in 1990, before the 2015 earthquake and many more. Even during ancient times, the priest of this temple used to report the sweating to the King and get rewards in return.
This temple attracts a large number of visitors in the fair (mela) organized on special festivals such as Bala Chaturdashi, Ram Navami, Chaitra Ashtami and Bhima Ekadashi. The tradition of sacrificing animals (bali) also is in practice in this site but the animals are dedicated only for Goddess Bhagawati.
-Article written by: Ujjwal Bhetwal for Land Nepal
