Temple lamps, part of religious heritage

There is a great significance of light in Hindu rites and puja they offer to god each day. Light dispels darkness. It is believed that it illuminates the worshippers’ mind by replacing ignorance with knowledge. Thus lamps are integral part of Hindu worship. Due to its importance, the lamps that people use at home and in temples have evolved from utility objects to objects of art. Even the wicks that are used in the lamps have different varieties and different deities are offered wicks of different thickness and material. In Nepal handspun cotton thread is popularly used to make wicks for lighting lamps for religious purpose. Thin strips of cotton cloth is also used for this purpose.

Clay, bronze and copper are common materials used in making lamps. Clay lamps are disposable and do not cost much. Bronze and copper lamps are available in various shapes and sizes with elaborate decorations. Sukunda and panas are our traditional Nepalese lamps. It is a popular custom in Nepal to donate lamps in the temple. In almost all major temples one can see rows of round, shallow lamps encircling the temple. Usually worshippers donate such lamps so that others can also offer light to the deity. There are some unique lamps in big temples in the Kathmandu valley. These lamps are notable for their sizes and remarkable from artistic point of view.

In the courtyard of Pashupatinath temple one can see the most unique designs of lamps. The most notable of the lamps is the one donated by Rana prime minister Chandra Samsher, situated close by the place where people do nava graha puja. It is huge and round in shape with hundred of smaller lamps arranged in tires. Besides this, there are other lamps in all four corners of the outer part of the temple. Bronze figures of men and women lift glass-encased lamp above their heads. Men wear peculiar English cap whereas women are made to resemble newar women in traditional getup with their hair styled in bun and a Chinese rose pinned in their hair. Just above the steps leading to the Bramhanal, in the eastern side of the temple is a small beautiful lamp with a hand shaped cover meant to protect the light from extinguishing. It is a neglected piece no longer in use but its unique shape and location make one wonder whether it always belonged there or was brought from some other place.

Other masterpieces in lamp craft can be seen in Bhaktapur. In the entrance of the inner courtyard of the Bhaktapur durbar leading to the temple of the patron deity of the king, there are two standing statues of the royal couple each carrying three lamps, two in their hands and one on their head. Bajrayogini temple in Sankhu also has a beautiful circular lamp with rows of smaller lamps. In Chovar Ganesh temple an idol resembling monkey cups its hands to hold the lamp. This type lamps are seen in many of temples of the Kathmandu valley.

Lamps, which are supposed to drive away the darkness and spread light and happiness have both spiritual and material significance in Hinduism. It illuminates the place where it is lit and eliminates spiritual darkness.

Lending a helping hand

Perina Pathak

Twenty-years-old Kulli Lama from a remote Humla village situated in the north-east of Nepal was taking her last breath as she was suffering from heart disorder (replacement of defective heart valve). Being so poor she was unable to collect Rs 200,000 for her treatment.

At the same time as an angle Martin Vernier, 32 joined the Women’s Foundation, a non-governmental organisation as a freelance volunteer. Through the foundation Vernier came to know about Lama and he decides to do something for her.

"She lost her mother when she was five years old and had to take care of her brother, who was only a month old. This was the most touching part that encouraged me to help her," said a kind hearted Vernier.

Professionally a painter, sculptor and archaeologist Vernier was from Lausanne Switzerland and can fluently speak French, English, German, Italian, Tibetan and Ladakhi languages.

"I thought I will give a try," he said. Then with support from his reporter friend and families living in Switzerland he could collect the amount necessary for operation. "My friend published an article, in which was written that ‘the surgical cost 4000 Swiss Francs in Nepal but here in Switzerland it would cost 40,000 Swiss Francs…. Neighter the Vernier family nor the benefactors of the Women’s Foundation have at their disposal such an amount. So they call for help to our instinct of solidarity,’ This sentence helped a lot," said he and gives a grin.

"Again after some time we published call to the public in the same newspaper ‘24Heure that helped us a lot to collect enough amount," he said.

Though Vernier’s friend has collected the money in the bank account, it was a great pressure for them to bring money here in Kathmandu within a short span of time because if operation was not done in time Lama won’t have survive long. "Fortunately my mother was planning to come here for Christmas and she brought money along with her," he said.

"We was in need of Rs 200,000 but we succeed to collect one million rupees. From the remaining money we are planning to use for similar cases at the disposal of the Women’s Foundation," said Vernier.

According to Vernier, five women suffering from various problems will be operated with the remained money. "Woman who gets one of her eyes pulled out by her husband, one with tumour in her neck and another one with breathing problem will be checked. Recently all these victim are living in the Women’s Foundation," adds he.

Recently Vernier is working as a volunteer in compost and recycling training at Bouddha. Also he is working as a freelance volunteer in the Women’s Foundation, an organisation fighting against rapist, violent repudiators, pimps and other domestic violence.

Burning incense, performing small scale yagya

When yagya is performed by the Hindus, they offer a mixture of rice, sesame and barley seeds, dry fruits of various kinds tossed in ghee collectively called charu to the fire god. Performing yagya is a complex ritual. But this complex ritual has a simple alternative. One can light incense and perform yagya anywhere and anytime he wants to. Here the base used in making incense stick is the charu and the stick in the middle is the samidha or wood used for lighting the yagya fire. When a devotee lights the incense, he is performing the yagya in smaller scale.

The Hindus and the Buddhists believe that burning incense pleases the god. Due to this reason they compulsorily include incense in their puja items. All deities are believed to like the incense which emit the fragrance of musk. Usually there are two types of incense. One the powder type incense burnt in incense burner and the other is stick incense which is lighted in one end and put stuck in incense stand.

In Nepal people still make and use traditional incense (bateko dhup) made from mixture of various ingredients. It is made by wrapping agaru( aquilaria agallocha), supati (flacourtia jangomas), gugul dhup (commiphora mukul)sandlewood powder, basil leaf, sugandhawal(pavonia odorata) saldhup (canarium strictum) and jatamasi (nardostachys jatamans)in Nepali paper. It contains no toxic substance and emits beautiful fragrance. But these days pure Nepali bateko dhup is hard to come by because the ingredients used in its preparation is expensive. In addition to incense offered to God in Nepal, people burn incense to drive away the evil powers as well. Ingredients like mustard and chili are sprinkled in the clay incense burner containing burning coals.

Besides religious purposes, incense is also used for healing human mind and body. Dilip Kumar Dixit, a curio shop owner in Thamel who has been making incense since past eight years says that the fragrance of incense has therapeutic values as well. "Smell of incense gives peace of mind and helps one to relax but you need to burn incense made from natural substance for this purpose," says Dixit. According to him the incense that people burn everyday in their household are made from charcoal base which in harmful to lungs. Such incense are lot cheaper than those made from harmless substances like sandalwood and herbs.

When asked how good quality incense is made Dixit explains, "Even if a good quality incense has a bamboo stick as its base, this stick adulterates the pureness of aroma coming from the incense when it is lighted. So the best quality incense come without the stick in the middle. Sandalwood powder and herbs are used for the base material desired essence is added for fragrance." "The fragrance of good quality incense is long lasting and is not so heady that it gives a headache," said Dixit and further added "When incense is lighted in a room, it evokes meditative mood and you remember the omnipresent who rules the universe. Burning incense is a great way of ensuring material and spiritual wellbeing."

Bells for deities

Hindus believe that when the harmonious tone of the bell re verberates, it pierces the infinity and reaches straight to brahma, the omnipotent, omnipresent god. The sound of the bells is also equivalent to stotras chanted in god’s homage. Those who do not know the stortas can please the god with the sounds of bells. Besides this, the bell is one of the items carried by Chandraghanta, the third of the nine Durgas. Her bell is a weapon with which she drives away the evil powers. The sound of the bell is supposed to dispel such powers. Due to its various religious significances, people also offer bells at temples. In main temples of the valley like Pashupatinath and Guheshowri we can see big temple bells.

Besides the temple bells, large size bells seen in the palace complex of all three cities of the Kathmandu valley, Patan, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur are important from historical point of view. All three of the bells were installed by the kings in honour of their patron deity. King Bhuptindra Malla of Bhaktapur was a great patron of art and architecture. In 1705 AD he made a huge bell and offered it to his royal deity Taleju Bhawani. His son Ranajit Malla made a bigger and grander bell 31 years later which also stands in the Bhakatapur durbar square. Around one month of its installation, king Bishu and Rani Chandra Laxmi Devi of Patan offered a beautiful bell to their royal deity. Sixty one years later king Rana Bahadur Shah who is noted for his whimsical behaviour installed the biggest bells in all three cities of the Kathmandu valley in Hanumandhoka durbar complex.

Since bells are integral part of worship, Hindus have miniature bells at home which they use during their daily worship ritual. As there are many sects within Hinduism, the people following different sects prefer to use bells adorned with figures of their personal deities. The Vaisnavites prefer bells with garuda on the top, the mount of lord Vishnu. The Saitives like to have trident or bullock atop the bell handle. But the most common are bells with image of Ganesha adorning the bell handle.

The bells found in the temples and various places in Nepal are unique on their own. They differ from the bells in the other parts of the globe in terms of shape, size and proportion of materials used in making them. Kings of Nepal have also donated bells in different shrines in India. In Babadham temple which is situated in Northern Bihar, India, a big bell offered by king Rajendra Bikram Shah can be seen in the temple premises. This bell is distinctly different from the other Indian bells hung there. Nepali bells are also different from those found in China.

The Chinese have dome shaped bells. People use a wooden mallet with leather covered head to strike the dome shaped part to produce sound. A fine example of Chinese bell stands in the Chinese monastery in Lumbini.

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