Balkumari Temple of Thimi; a temple in the middle of the city

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Balkumari Temple of Thimi; a temple in the middle of the city image
Image by bhaktapur.com/Praz Santt

Balkumari of Madhyapur Thimi is worshipped as one of the four kumaris of Kathmandu Valley. The local people praise her as their guardian deity. The locals perform their livelihood ceremonies like marriage, and Barthabandha over there.

The Balkumari temple has a brick-paved rectangular courtyard. Also, the minor and major deities within it like the Digu Bhairava temple.

The temple itself is of a three-falsehood which has amusingly impressive hanging Pataas. It also has a column in front of it, which has a beautiful representation of a peacock. There were more peacocks in its tier corners. But they all were stolen, leaving one among them.

patah of Balkumari temple

patah of Balkumari temple

That’s why it was once sealed with strong iron bars including the Balkumari temple. But now, the iron bars have been removed and the temple is in its initial face.

peacock on the roof of Balkumari temple

peacock on the roof of Balkumari temple

The legends about the Balkumari temple

The temple has a long story, nearly dating back to the 17th century. Of course, cause the temple was established at that time. The legends say that a merchant of Madhyapur usually went to Lubu for trading purposes along with his group. But he somehow fell in love with the princess of the Lubu and vice versa.

Soon, the princess also got pregnant. For that reason, she asked the merchant to take her away with him to the thimi. The merchant happily accepted her proposal but at the same time, he put a condition too.

The condition was as if she wants to come to thimi with him, she must bring the balkumari with her.

That the princess also happily accepted and brought the deity to the thimi. From that time, the deity was permanently shifted to thimi.

Plus, there is a womb-like structure right above the idol of the deity. That, in some way, justifies the story of shifting the deity by the pregnant women.

Balkumari temple and the biska jatra

BALKUMARI TEMPLE

BALKUMARI TEMPLE
PC: KTM guide

The Balkumari temple became a course of titling and tattling when it comes to the Biska Jatra. Yes, because this temple is foremost related to the vermilion festival, ordinarily known as Sindur Jatra. The jatra initially starts from this temple. But her chariot is not rounded to the whole city as other chariots do.

Her chariot is taken up to the temple of Prachanda Bhairva. Since it is believed that the ancient thimi was bordered that place in the north.

How to get there?

The temple is not a challenging place and it is truly quick to reach there. A half an hour of a taxi ride drops you at the entrance of the temple from Baagbazaar. Alternately, if you choose to ride a local bus, then it might take around 45 minutes of time to reach thimi.

The Naya thimi, the bus conductor as well as the locals call the place Naya Thimi. From where you have to walk for exactly 5 minutes. There, on your left-hand side, on your second turn, you would find the temple.

 

FAQs

This Balkumari temple is located at Madhyapur Thimi of Bhaktapur. 

You can either take a bus that goes to Thimi or reserve a cab to directly reach the temple. If you choose to go by bus then you have to walk north from Thimi Chowk for about 5-7 minutes. You can notice a temple, statue and park nearby the Chowk (the centre).

There are four Balkumari temples in Kathmandu Valley.

Yes, there are some small cafes near the temple. But there aren’t any good restaurants and guest houses near the temple.

Although there are no records on the web of its exact establishment, there are possible assumptions of it being made in the 17th century.

Yes, it is. Although it is the lineage deity of Madhyapurians, there is one more thing that makes it more popular, the sindoor jatra of thimi. , During Sindoor jatra ( Biska Jatra), about 32 palanquins of different deities of thimi are carried over here and the jatra begins.

Yes, you can. But taking pictures inside the temple seems prohibited.

No, there is no need to pay any entrance fees to enter Madhyapur Thimi.

Yes, you can during its opening hours. And don’t forget to take out your shoes before entering the temple.

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  • Madhyapur thimi municipality, Bhaktapur District, Nepal.

  • 27.675718, 85.385297
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