Durbar Square (unfinished)

(Friday afternoon)
Meagan and I just finished a tour of Durbar Square. Fantastic. We learned about the practical applications of the karma sutra. On the posts that support the eaves of a specific style of temple are layers of three carvings. On the top are leaves, the center are deities and the bottoms are carvings from the karma sutra.

Apparently they started carving tantric designs in temples when the population of Nepal began waining in the middle ages. Also, people stopped going to temples and shrines because they felt unclean and unworthy. Kings and priests decided to carve tantric scenes on the temples to show the people it was alright to come and pray.

That morning I went to drop off my laundry and who do I run into but Leigh and Esther. After a few awkward minutes Meagan walked up the steps. A complete coincidence. She gave her Meagan squeal and gave me a big hug which I appreciated. We spent the rest of the day (and night) together. After lunch we planned to go as a group to Durbar Square but Meagan and I lost the others so we went on our own. In the end we hired a guide to take us around and I loved every minute of it. Possibly the most important fact he told us was why there are three different Durbar Squares in three different cities around Kathmandu. 'Durbar' means palace and there are three main palaces left over from when Nepal was made up of tiny kingdoms.

He took us down Freak Street (the Mecca of the hippie trail) and showed us the temple that Bob Dylan and Hendricks sat on top of and played. He told us about the magic post in one temple that is supposed to cure back pain. Consequently the post is whittled down in one place from the thousands of backs rubbed clockwise against it each year. Meagan and I tried it and, though it felt good at the time, we think it had the opposite effect later in the day because we weren't Hindu.

Besides the tantric designs my ore favorite part was the guide showing us the enormous statue of the Hindu god of law and justice. I gather that the statue was found while men dug a foundation for a temple the king had ordered built. They brought the statue to Durbar Square and the space around became a sort of courthouse. Whenever people had a dispute or soldiers caught a supposed criminal they would come before the statue and someone would decide the case. People would not lie before the statue because it would damn them to hell.

Today, the police academy and courthouse sit next to the statue.