PASHUPATINATH TEMPLE - KATHMANDU 1. NEPAL – ORIGIN OF TEMPLES The present temple architecture of Nepal with characteriscs of Pagodas, made of wood ,bricks and les of ered roofing are dated fairly early, starng from the Lichchavi dynasty (5th to 8th century CE), if not earlier and were later followed by the Malla dynasty. However the origins of these temples structure are based on very lile evidence or inscripons and are based on assumpons. These mul-ered temples of Nepal especially in the Kathmandu valley look very similar to the structural temples in Himachal Pradesh, the Malabar coast in south of India, Bali in Indonesia, China, Korea and Japan. Experts assign the origins of these Nepalese storied temples to various sources including India and China and some aribung it to the indigenous style of Nepal itself. Knowledge about the Brahminical temples of the Lichchavi's are derived from very limited sources , including two brief references from inscripons and from a Chinese envoy in Nepal named Wang Hieun ts'e in the middle of the 7th century. In an inscripon of Saka 388 corresponding to 466 CE of the Lichchavi dynasty, a menon is made of the installaon of a Shivalingam in a Prasada or pinnacle or a high raised plaorm referring to the Pashupanath. Similarly an inscripon in the Changu Narayan Temple dated 467 CE of King Manadeva l, the idol of Shri Garuda Narayana is installed in a Bhavana. Further a word called Devakula was also very popular in the Kathmandu valley starng from the Lichchavi period(400-750 CE) to the later Malla period(1201-1482 CE). The word Prasada or Bhavana or Devakula thus would constute to an exisng structure which could only be a temple in any form including a single cell, a niche, a fenced area, an aedicule, a wall as a back drop, an open space with a Jaga or raised plaorm or a full-fledged temple. The Kailasanathar Temple Kanchipuram, has 58 miniature temples fencing around the main temple called Devakulika. The Pashupanath temple also has a sub shrine of the same nature in its compound. So the presumpon would be that the early temples were simple structures, with raised plaorms, open sky or with metal canopy supported by pillars over the main Idol, resembling a pavilion or mandapam (instead of well-defined (Garbhagriha's), which are very common in the Kathmandu valley including that of the Guhayeshwari and Kirateshvara temple in the Pashupanath extended Courtyard even to this day. The Sanskrit inscripon of King Jayadeva ll of the Lichchavi's in the 733 CE, describes offering of silver Lotus Canopy to Mahadev Pashupanath, presumably describes the temple as in existence, with the walls embossed with silver on the Vedi or plinth or Jaga or raised pedestal layed with gilded metal. Further it is not clear whether the Silver Lotus was to be suspended from the ceiling as a lantern or was to be used as a parasol over the Lingam, leading to a conclusion that the Pashupanath temple was more of an open place, standing on a pedestal, walls with doorways enclosing the Lingam and an open sky during this period.