Dakshinkali Templeਦਕਸ਼ਿਣਕਾਲੀ ਮੰਦਰ

South of Kathmandu, the road climbs through Pharping village and then drops into a green ravine where two streams meet, and at the bottom of a steep stairway, among bells, marigolds and incense smoke, stands one of the most powerful goddess shrines in Nepal. Dakshinkali Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kali in her Dakshina Kali form, near Pharping in Kathmandu district, Nepal. Devotees rank its religious value alongside the great Shiva temple of Pashupatinath itself, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays the gorge fills with worshippers bringing offerings to the Mother who, in the words of the tradition, protects her devotees and children from mishaps and misfortunes.

What is Dakshinkali Temple?

Dakshinkali Temple is an open air Hindu shrine to Kali, the fierce form of the goddess, set in a forested ravine at the confluence of two streams about 22 kilometres south of central Kathmandu, just outside the village of Pharping. The black stone image of the goddess, six armed and garlanded, is the heart of the shrine. In her Dakshina Kali form, Kali is shown with her right foot on the chest of Shiva. Tradition distinguishes this from Vamakali, shown with the left foot forward and regarded as the even more fearsome form. Dakshina Kali, by contrast, is honoured above all as a benevolent mother: the most popular form of Kali in Nepal, worshipped as a protector of her devotees.

Why is she called Dakshina Kali?

Several explanations of the name are told, and the temple's own tradition holds them together rather than choosing one. Dakshina means a gift given to a priest before a ritual, or to one's guru, and such gifts are traditionally given with the right hand: Dakshinakali's two right hands are usually depicted in gestures of blessing and of giving boons. Another telling connects the name with the south, dakshina: Yama, the lord of death, has his realm in the south, and when he heard Kali's name he was filled with terror, so her worshippers are said to be able to overcome death itself. A third, simpler link is the map: this temple of the southern Kali stands in the southern part of the Kathmandu Valley, facing the city from its gorge below Pharping.

How is Dakshinkali worshipped?

Animal sacrifice is the main way the goddess is worshipped at Dakshinkali, and it gives the temple its intense, unmistakable atmosphere. The offerings are particularly cockerels and uncastrated male goats, and the great days are Tuesdays and Saturdays, when devotees crowd the stairway and the shrine at the confluence. The year's peak is Dashain, the great autumn festival of the goddess, when families come in large numbers seeking her blessing and protection. After the offering, families typically picnic in the surrounding forest on the sanctified meat, so a sacrifice day at Dakshinkali is also a family festival under the trees. Visitors who would rather not witness sacrifice should come on another day of the week, when the gorge is calm and the shrine can be approached quietly. This page describes the practice as devotees practise it; it is one of the oldest living forms of Shakti worship in the valley.

A shrine at the meeting of two streams

The setting is half of Dakshinkali's power. The temple is an open air shrine at the bottom of a forested gorge, reached by a steep stairway, with the goddess standing where the two streams join. On major sacrifice days the water at the confluence is said to run red, a sight devotees read as the goddess receiving what is offered to her. Around the shrine the forested hillside is rich with birdlife, and the walk down through the trees, with temple bells carrying through the ravine, is part of why Dakshinkali is also a popular hiking destination as well as a place of worship. Read it alongside Nepal's other great goddess and god shrines in this collection: Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, the high shared shrine of Muktinath in Mustang, and India's great Shakti centre, Kamakhya in Guwahati.

Visiting Dakshinkali

Dakshinkali lies near Pharping village, about 22 kilometres south of central Kathmandu, and the drive through Pharping is part of the visit. Plan around the temple's rhythm: Tuesdays and Saturdays are the crowded sacrifice days, Dashain is the busiest season of all, and the temple closes for a period around midday for rituals before reopening. The shrine is a living place of worship, not a monument, so dress and behave as a guest of the goddess and her devotees, follow the directions of the temple staff on the stairway, and let worshippers with offerings pass first.