Inner Asia: The Art of Nepal II: Newar Buddhist Art
Swayambhu Mahacaitya atop Gosingu Parvat as seen from the road from Katmandu
(looking toward the west from about 1 km. away). Complex history ranging
from at least as early as the beginning of the c.e. through the present
day.
The hill on which the great lotus came to rest had been a place of veneration
until where one went to do puja and take darshan of the phenomenon. However,
according to the Swayambhu Purana, a prince of Gaur (modern Rajshahi District
in Modern Bangladesh) was moved by his apprehension of the evils of the
Kali yuga (the evil period of time at the end of the world cycle) to encase
the Swayambhu Jyotirupa in a Maha, "great" caitya (also known
as a "stupa" or reliquary mound but the word caitya is always
used in reference to Swayambhu). Once this was done, Swayambhu Mahacaitya
became the pre-eminent Buddhist monument of the Valley and, as will be seen,
the consecrating source of all Buddhist ritual space in the valley.
Now, it is important to note that the consecrating source of all Buddhist
ritual space in the valley, had as its own source, Guhyesvari, thus giving
the ultimate primacy to the primordial Guhyesvari. In the following pictures
we will look at just what the Swayambhu Mahacaitya symbolizes and how it,
in turn, functions as a consecrating source in the Buddhist environment.
