Nepal, Kathmandu. Buddhist shrine of Swayambhu at sunset. Legend connects Swayambhu, the self-born, primordial Buddha, with the earliest origins of Kathmandu. The Swayambhu Stupa, painted with the eyes of the omnipresent god, forms the centerpiece of the temple complex. Swayambhu plays a major part in the lives of the Vajrayana Buddhists of Northern Nepal and Tibet, but more especially of the Newari Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley. The oldest inscription in the temple precinct refers to the monastery as founded in about ad 460 during the reign of King Mana Deva. By the 13th c. it had become widely known, a fact to which the writings of a Tibetan pilgrim called Dharmasvami who spent eight years in Swayambhunath testify. In 1346 however, the Sultan of Bengal's Muslim troops reduced the shrine to rubble. It was rebuilt in 1372, the expense being borne by the nobility of Kathmandu. The bronze sections and bejeweled mast, made in Kathmandu, were carried up Swayambhunath Hill in procession. The stupa is assumed to have taken on its present shape at this particular time. Reached by over 300 steps, it has great atmosphere, especially at sunrise and sunset and has tremendous views across the city and the Himalayas on a clear day.
