KATHMANDU: The Changu Narayan tempel is on way to the historical as well as mythological township of Sankhu, about 16 km east of Kathmandu. The temple built by a Lichhivi king in 325 Ad is only about 4 km from Bhaktapur, but the shrine of Changu Narayan has been there for thousands of years. The interesting mythological account of the shrine is that Bali, the king of monkeys, was killed for not fault of hs own by Lord Rama for the sake of his sworn friend Sugriva who was younger brother to Bali. Lord Rama had promised dying Bali that he would pay back by giving his own life for Bali’s life in his next birth.

The hill on which the temple of Changu Narayan stands today was then known as Doli Giri where Bali lived a saintly life in his next birth with his own herd of cattle. The saint was intrigued when he marked that one of his cows which gave much milk had begun to come back from the forest with her under almost emptied every evening. He shadowed the cow only to find that the cow was giving her milk to a stranger on the hill. Infuriated, the saint whipped his sword to cut man’s head off, but to his surprise he found the man turned into a tree and it was the tree which he had cut.

Immediately Lord Vishnu with each of his four hands holding the conch, the Chakra (a whirling circular weapon exclusive to the Lord), the club and the Padma (lotus shaped weapon) was there on the stump of the tree. The saint regretted and supplicated the Lord for his forgiveness. The lord reminded the saint of hw he had given words to the saint in his previous life as Bali. Even toay the image of the Lord though on Garudha, His carrier, is partly placed on the tree stump in the temple.