Namaste!
Welcome to Dakshinkali temple.
Goddess Dakshinkali is worshiped along with Ganesh, seven divine goddesses (astamatrika- Brahmayani, Maheswari, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Barahi, Indrayani, Naarsinghi, Dakshinkali) and Bhairav. The temple of Goddess Dakshinkali lies 18 km south of Kathmandu valley amidst the large hills and in the junction of two holy rivulets- Poornabati and Udhdarbati.
In the past, people used to worship a ‘Shila’ of Goddess Dakshinkali. It is said that Goddess Dakshinkali arrived in the dreams of King Pratap Malla and asked him to manifest her in an idol form. He then ordered to prepare the stone idol of the Goddess and installed it at the junction of the holy rivulets as asked by the goddess that came to his dreams. Goddess Dakshinkali was consecrated by performing traditional pujas.
In hindu mythology, Kali is the representation of immeasurable time. Goddess Dakshinkali is regarded as one of the powerful forms of Kali. The idol of bhairav lies in front of the main temple. Bhairav is regarded as the form of Shiva whereas Kali is regarded as the form of Shakti.
In Dakshinkali temple, there is a custom to conduct Puja Goddess at 11:30 AM in the morning and it will last until around 1 PM. The main temple remains closed at these hours. Moreover, the daily evening aarati takes place after sunset.
People make sacrifices to the goddess when their requests are granted or to impress the goddess so that she would grant them wishes.They offer duck, rooster, water buffalo, he-goat and sheep as a sacrifice to goddess Dakshinkali. There are some who offer all these animals at the same time which is known as “Pancha Bali”.
There is a huge inflow of tourists and devotees during Saturdays, maha-asthami, maha-navami and Chaturdashi. There is also an abundance of devotees during Dashain and Chaite Dashain.
Mata temple, believed to be the temple of goddess Dakshinkali’s mother lies 10 minutes from the south-west part of Dakshinkali temple. According to the hearsay of the local people, the Divine Energy of the said stone idol was very much violent and to mitigate the violence of the said idol, the stone- image of the goddess was established.
Dakshinkali temple premise is about 56 hectare. Parking areas, picnic spots, shops and many public spaces are created in this premise. Hence, Dakshinkali area is popular for Dakshinkali temple as well as the natural and peaceful environment.
