Manakamana Devi temple is highly respected sacred Hindu Goddess Bhagawati. Temple is 140 kilometer from Kathmandu and on the way to Pokhara. The meaning of Manakamana is wished fulfill. So Manakamana is believed goddess Bhagabati reward pilgrimages who reach there are granting their wishes. Temple situated 1302 miters altitude overlooks the river valleys of Trishuli in the south and Marshyangdi in the west. The panaromic views of Manaslu, Himchuli, Annapurna rages can be seen from temple.
Legend of Manakamana Temple
The legend of Manakamana Goddess dates back to the reign of the Gorkha king Ram Shah during the 17th century. It is said that his queen possessed divine powers, which only her devotee Lakhan Thapa knew about. One day, the king witnessed his queen in Goddess incarnation, and Lakhan Thapa in the form of a lion. Upon mentioning the revelation to his queen, a mysterious death befell the king. As per the custom of that time, the queen committed SATI (ritual immolation) on her husband’s funeral pyre. Before her sati the queen had assured Lakhan Thapa that she would reappear in the near future. Six months later, a farmer while ploughing his fields cleaved a stone. From the stone he saw a stream of blood and milk flow. When Lakhan heard an account of this event, he immediately started performing Hindu tantric rituals at the site where the stone had been discovered thus ceasing the flow of blood and milk. The site became the foundation of the present shrine. According to tradition, the priest at the temple must be a descendent of Lakhan Thapa.
Manakamana by cable car
The facility of a cable car is from kurintar, just to Manakamana temple. The cable car rides over the distance of 2.8 kilometers in 10 minutes about. The cable car usually operates during the daytime from 9 am to 5 pm and stops during lunch break from 12 noon to half past one. Manakamana cable car was started on November 1998. The cable car system was imported from Austria and guarantees a hundred percent safety.
Hiking to Manakamana temple
In earlier times, the only way to reach the Manakamana temple was by a long strenuous trek for about 3 to 4 hours. Now after cable car, mostly peoples are travelling by cable car both way. Hiking route to Manakamana temple is still charming with beautiful hills and steps. It is about 4 hours hiking from Abukhaireni. Orange field, forest, local villages and view of Trishuli river valley makes hiking route so interesting. Route also meet dusty road time to time.
