Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1

Site, Topography, Climate and Ecology .............................................................................................. 1

Derivation of the name "Harisiddhi" .................................................................................................. 1

About the Goddess “Harisiddhi” ......................................................................................................... 1

Concept of Space ................................................................................................................................ 2

Historical Background of the Temple .................................................................................................. 3

Socio-cultural and religious aspects ........................................................................................................ 4

Vaastushastra ...................................................................................................................................... 4

Principles of Composition ................................................................................................................... 5

Harisiddhi Naach ................................................................................................................................. 5

Materials used ........................................................................................................................................ 6

Clay / Mud and rocks: ......................................................................................................................... 6

Wood:.................................................................................................................................................. 6

Metal: .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Technology of Construction .................................................................................................................... 7

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 9

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 10

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Introduction

Site, Topography, Climate and Ecology About 8 km south-east from the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, on the way to Godawari, Lalitpur,

there is a historically renowned village named Harisiddhi, where the Temple of Harisiddhi is located. The temple is at the height of about 4400 ft from the sea level, whose latitude is 270˚38'

north and longitude is 850˚21' east. About 200m west from the temple, there is a river named 'Karmanasha (Kodku)'. The climate at this place is normal i.e. hot in summer and cold in winter.

The temple is surrounded by the residential area. There is a pond to the south-east direction of the temple which is believed to be one of the important holy-ponds i.e. Kunda.

Derivation of the name "Harisiddhi"

The village is seen to be named after the goddess Harisiddhi, whose 4-tiered temple is situated

at the middle of the village. In ancient time, it has been believed that there were two giants, who went to the Kailash Parbat (the place where Lord Shiva lived) and hurt the gate-man, 'Nandi'.

Lord Shiva knew about the incident and remembered the Goddess, 'Chandika'. The Goddess appeared immediately and killed those 2 giants as per Lord Shiva had said and is thereafter,

worshipped as Harsiddhi. The word Harisiddhi has been mistakenly used. Actually, it should have been Hara (Shiva) and Siddhi (Parvati) or Harasiddhi which indicates that, a half of body

is Shiva and the remaining half is Parvati; the attribute of Lord Shiva and Parvati.

About the Goddess “Harisiddhi”

According to the Hindu econography, the goddess

Harisiddhi has 4 hands, each carrying Damaru, Kamandal,

Khadga and Kalash. As the recognition of "Bhairab, Harsiddhi

and Kumari", three clay-pots full of

water are set in the temple towards west direction. The goddess is also

renowned as Tri-Shakti, Tri-Devi,

Maheswori, Amba Maa, Baishnavi

and Jagdamba. According to the main priest, 'Tri-Bikram

Jwalananda Rajopadhya' the goddess Harsiddhi is the creator of

the world. She created "Bhairab"

and "Kumari" with her miracle

power. So, she is also known as Tri-

Shakti (three powered) goddess. According to Devi-Puran, though the goddess is imageless, still

with her miracle power, it has been believed that she possess image and she accepts the public prayers if it is done with holy-mind and blesses people according to their wish.

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Goddess Harsiddhi is established in the following places and she is worshipped as follows:

• Ujjain, India - Amba Maa

• Dwarika, India - Baishnavi

• Gujarat, India - Harsiddhi

• Dolakha, Nepal - Balkumari

• Sita Paila, Kathmandu - Harsiddhi Pith

• Kwalkhu, Patan - Tridevi

• Dhulikhel, Kavre - Trishakti

• Agnimath, Patan - Maheswori

• Thaiba, Lalitpur - Jagdamba

• Harisiddhi, Lalitpur - Trishakti

Concept of Space

Harisiddhi temple is build on the basis

of First Space Concept in which, building are viewed as sculpture form outside

but the use of interiors is minimal. The temple, from outside is an example of good architecture but there are just

some idols of gods and goddesses inside which shows that the interior of the

temple is considered less importance in concept of architecture. The plan of the

temple is square shaped. It has been considered to be the perfect layout for

gods and kings. The temple is four tiered temple and the idol of the goddess is on

the 1st floor.

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Historical Background of the Temple

The origin of this goddess is in Ujjain, India. Indian emperor 'Bikramaditya', who was also the founder

of 'Bikram Sambat', came to Nepal with his beloved goddess Harisiddhi and established the temple of

her in Baneshwor, Nepal. He then initiated the dance of gods and goddesses. After some years, the dance was discontinued. In the Lichchhavi period,

(about 745 B.S.), the goddess Harisiddhi was taken to Harisiddhi village and the dance was again

started. In course of time, the dance was again discontinued for some years. During the reign of

King Amar Malla, the famous incantatory (Baidhya) 'Gayojuju' brought the lost dance and King Yog

Narendra Malla provided certain space to continue it. The famous incantatory, Gayojuju,

'Yogendranand Rajopadhya', has been believed to be able to talk to gods and goddesses. He had started Gurukul school system at his home

at that time where his pupils used to help him in households. One day, one of his pupils went to Godawari forest to collect some wood. There, he

encountered a strange musical sound. He went after the sound and in the meantime reached the

top of the Phulchowki forest and came across a surprising incident. He got afraid and so, went to hide in the bushes, from where, he looked at those astounding scenes of gods and goddesses

coming down from the heaven, performing dance with lovely music and departing. It continued for the whole day and in the evening, it ended. The boy then came out from the bushes. He

forgot his purpose of coming and so, he returned empty handed. When Guru asked him for the explanation, he put forth the whole event. Guru got anxious after hearing his pupil's words and

decided to investigate about it. Next morning, he went to the venue with his pupils with full preparation and watched the happening hiding behind the bushes. Then, the Guru enclosed the

area with an enchanted thread.

Gods and goddesses came down to dance from heaven, but could not depart. The goddess

Harisiddhi asked for the person responsible. Soon, guru came out, confessed his doings and expressed that he didn't have enough of the dance. So, he wished to watch the dance again.

When Guru promised to manage everything, the goddess agreed. Guru, with some incantations, then made the gods and goddesses enter into drinking vessel (Kamandal), then wrapped the

vessel with an enchanted thread and covered it with the grass. They came down the hill carrying the vessel and later on, the temple was established.

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Socio-cultural and religious aspects

There are 29 priests appointed for the activities related to the temple and goddess. These priests are worshipped as God by the villagers. This shows the villagers’ faith in god in this 21st

century. All the villagers are united and they do most socio-cultural and religious activities in unity. The building named 'Ta: Chapaa:' which was nearly as old as the temple, has been rebuilt

by the combined effort of all villagers. At present, a building beside the temple, which is meant for the priests, is also under reconstruction by the joint effort of the villagers. According to Ar.

Raj Krishna Maharjan, the building is to be constructed in the traditional way using the locally available building materials. Their chief aim is to list the place in UNESCO's World Heritage Site.

The important social and cultural activities of the

village take place in front of the temple or at least, start here. Such activities include 'Gai Jatra', 'Matya',

'Indra Jatra Chaychi', 'Salcha pyaakha:', 'Dyo pyaakha:

(Harisiddhi naach)' etc. The temple is more

concentrated to the Hindu religion. There are several idols of Hindu gods and goddess around the place.

Vaastushastra The orientation and the proportion of this temple are based on Vaastushastra. Inside, there are two idols:

one facing south and the other west. According to Vaastushastra, it is believed that, while praying or

worshipping the god, if a person faces north, he is blessed with wealth and if the faces east, he is blessed

with education. The facing of the idols might be for some similar reasons. In the similar way, the door of

the entrance is faced east.

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Principles of Composition

The temple seems symmetric on a certain axis. Perfect symmetry, in case of temple, also gives symmetry in case of distribution of mass and rigidity – equal strength to the building in

response to any direction of ground wave and lateral force. Doors are not close to corners; else, strength is reduced. Tundals are repeatedly used for the support of the tiers of the temple.

There are repeatedly used strips on the tiers of the temple.

Harisiddhi Naach

Harisiddhi dance is believed to be Nepal's first and finest mask dance. King Yog Narendra Malla

provided 310 ropanies of land for daily worshipping and 294 ropanies of land for the festival of every 12 years so that, this beautiful dance could be continued. The 12 year tradition includes

appointment of priests, coloring of masks, dress making, bringing of holy wood, regaining of divine power and the establishment of Kalash. It is well known that there is no any vocal and

instrumental music and dramatic performance to that of Harisiddhi Naach. The dance is fantastic still. In the past, the dance used to be performed for three months continuously. People were not interested or say, they had no time to watch a long period dance which resulted

descend of its value. So, later on the dance was performed within a day accumulating the main events only. So, at present, there is difficulty in understanding the nature of the dance.

Nowadays, the dance is performed just two times a year; first is on "Yomari Purnima" and the second on "Holi (Fagu Purnima)". This day is the main festival of the local people when close

friends and relatives are invited as guests.

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Materials used

Clay / Mud and rocks: The mostly used material for the construction of this temple

is lacustrine clay, with a touch of stone and metal, as the geology of the Valley provides a variety of mud and a limited scattering of rocks for building purposes. Clay is the raw

material for making the bricks. Walls are made of bricks laid by the clay mortar. Minimum amount of mud mortar is used

so as to avoid its washing during monsoon. The support for the bell (Ghanti) has been made of stones. The base of the

temple is also mostly made of stones and rocks.

Wood: Most of the construction details in the tiered temples that contribute to

developing earthquake resistant properties are a direct contribution of

the woodwork. It is supposed that, Timber wood has been used for making

the columns, frames, tundals, toranas etc. Fine crafts can be observed in it.

They bear the idols of different gods, goddesses and some other craft works

since it has been believed that, only gods and goddesses possess the power to support the structure. The windows,

also made of wood, are in classic Newari style i.e. Ankhi Jhyal, whereas some are

small shaped which are believed to be a medium for blessings from the god. The wood of Sal tree, supposed to be better than teak for building purposes, has been used as the basic skeleton

of the roof complex.

Metal: The roofs are made of metals (mixture of copper, zinc and brass). The pataka in the front is also

made of metal (probably copper). It is believed that, the gods and goddesses descend from the heaven through the pataka. The pataka is also believed to be the trunk of Ganesha. Gajurs are

also made up of metals where they have been used as the finishing element. There are altogether 29 pinnacles: 6, 12, 8 and 3 on the first, second, third and top roof respectively. 3

sacred umbrellas mounted over the 3 pinnacle on the top roof symbolize protectionism from the religious point of view, metal being the core element. Bells are also made of bronze which give a

symbolic meaning to calling the Gods and project the prayers of devotees to the God through their diving sound.

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Technology of Construction

This temple is a four-tiered temple mostly called a pagoda style temple. However, the term “pagoda” for this type of temple was brought into use by the foreigners. The "pagodas" of China

and Japan are seen to be different from Nepalese tiered temples. Ronal Bernier showed two major structural differences:

(i) The constructions of pagodas around central front which serves as a structural issue are found in Far East regions but absent in all Nepalese temples. The main reasons for not using central pillars are: unavailability of tall woods and disturbances in the religious

activities. (ii) The means of supporting the roofs are different. In Nepal, wooden struts are used,

which slant outwards from the temple building to brace the roof. The Far Eastern architects use a more complicated system of horizontal and vertical brackets to solve

the weight problem.

The height of this temple seems to follow ancient instructions, which prescribes the total height of the temple to be either twice of thrice the width of the temple (i.e., the external measure of

the sanctum room).

The temple has 5 floors (odd numbered). All Nepalese temples

rarely use even numbered floors. Experiments with models have shown that a five storeyed temple

comes to rest faster than four storeyed temples when subjected to

similar vibrations. Wedges are used in order to allow movements and

also allow lightening of joints which prevent during the action of lateral

forces (earthquake energy absorption). The use of the wedged

joint between wooden structural members and brickwork has given a

great amount of flexibility to the structure and a capacity to absorb energy released in the earthquake action through allowable movement. The symmetrical plan configuration of the

temple gives a balanced distribution of mass and rigidity and an equally response to

waves in any direction. The use and detailing of double frames

in the construction of doors and windows help make the

building safer during earthquakes. Since these double

wood frames going all round the opening on both sides of the

thick wall not only help the brick mass distribute tension

but also tie the puncture itself to avoid diagonal cracks.

The slanted roofs are used for rain proofing. The pillars are square prisms, carved, with a bracket capital and a long extending beam above. The tundals and timber ring

wedged are used to hold the quakes. A scientific reason behind the use of

The construction purpose behind the widewater from the top and thereby protect the vulnerable joint and timber elements meeting there.

Ground floor has beenwalls which bear more loads and

also prevent earthquake. going up, the thickness of wall is

decreased since the load to be beared by the wall decrease

reduce the load, more structures are made of wood and also

load of Jhingati roof (tiled roof) has been reduced greatly by usi

copper sheet roofingnot only increased durability but also earthquake resistance.

temple is constructed with two core walls surrounding the sanctum co

which not only forms an inner circumambulatory but also provides

the building up of the inner wall to form the upper core and to support

the upper roofs. The earthquake endurance of the temples also has a

lot to do with the use of timber wedges (chuku) in joints. This simple

innovative detailing of 'joinery' not only gives great energy absorbing

capacity to the building in the event of earthquakes but also enables the structural joints to be further

tightened with small shrinkages that occurred over time

used to develop and detail the tension joinery for timber elements.

The slanted roofs are used for rain proofing. The pillars are square prisms, carved, with a bracket capital and a long extending beam above. The tundals and timber ring

sloping roof tightly to wall in order to avoid sliding off during A scientific reason behind the use of Gajurs is to prevent the temple from the lightening.

The construction purpose behind the wide-base design of the finial is to prevent the ingress of water from the top and thereby protect the vulnerable joint and timber elements meeting there.

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Ground floor has been made of thick walls which bear more loads and

also prevent earthquake. While the thickness of wall is

since the load to be beared by the wall decreases. To

reduce the load, more structures are and also, the dead

roof (tiled roof) has been reduced greatly by using

copper sheet roofing, which means not only increased durability but also earthquake resistance. The

temple is constructed with two core walls surrounding the sanctum core

which not only forms an inner circumambulatory but also provides

the building up of the inner wall to form the upper core and to support

the upper roofs. The earthquake endurance of the temples also has a

lot to do with the use of timber in joints. This simple

innovative detailing of 'joinery' not only gives great energy absorbing

capacity to the building in the event of earthquakes but also enables the structural joints to be further

tightened with small shrinkages that occurred over time. Chuku was also

used to develop and detail the tension joinery for timber elements.

The slanted roofs are used for rain proofing. The pillars are square prisms, carved, with a bracket capital and a long extending beam above. The tundals and timber ring plates and

avoid sliding off during is to prevent the temple from the lightening.

base design of the finial is to prevent the ingress of water from the top and thereby protect the vulnerable joint and timber elements meeting there.

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Conclusion

The temple is in good condition

at present. It is among the

important heritages our

ancestors have left us. So, this

temple is of great importance.

People are aware of the

importance. The repairing and

the maintenance of the temple

have been carried on in certain

interval of time. Though the

original colour of the temple

has been changed by the use of

modern colours, the heritage is

still an example of good

artwork. However, the impact

and use of modern materials

during the reconstruction has

somehow deteriorated the

originality. People are jointly

involved in the protection of

such heritage. Local people

(villagers) are making their

efforts to include the place in

the list of UNESCO's World

Heritage Sites.

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Bibliography

Our Harisiddhi. [Online] http://www.ourharisiddhi.com.

Banerjee, N. R. 1980. Nepalese Architecture. Delhi : Agam Kala Prakashan, 1980.

Dangol, Purushottam. Elements of Nepalese Temple Architecture.

Fletcher, Sir Banister. 1999. A History of Architecture. New Delhi : CBS Publishers & Distributors,

1999.

Government, Nepal. Department of Archaeology.

—. The National Library.

Group, Harisiddhi Youth Club. 2011. Dabu Souvenir 2011. Lalitpur : 36 group Yuva Club, 2011.

Maharjan, Ar. Raj Krishna. 2013. January 12, 2013.

Maharjan, Ram. 2013. January 12, 2013.

Maharjan, Sakkal. 2013. January 12, 2013.

Shastri, Dr. Basudev Krishna. 2011. Vaastu Shastra Gyan. Kathmandu : Buddha Academic Publishers

and Distributors, 2011.

Tiwari, Sudarshan Raj. 2009. Temples of the Nepal Valley. Kathmandu : Himal Books, 2009.