Introduction
Mankamana Temple is an important religious and touristic place in Gorkha district of Nepal. Manakamana is worshiped as Bhagwati or Goddess who fulfills the wishes of her devotees. It is believed that the name of this goddess is Manakamana because she fulfills the wishes of the heart. Even now, people remember this Bhagwati temple and vow to fulfill their vows, and every year thousands of pilgrims come to this temple to offer their vows.
Legend on the Origin of the Mankamana Temple
According to the priests of Manakamana Mai, Queen Lilavati or Punyavati Devi was an incarnation of King Ramshaha (1614 to 1636 AD). Lakhan Thapa was a very close devotee of Lilavati. Once King Ramshah saw his queen and Lakhan Thapa together on his throne in Gorkha’s Upper Kot Darwar. Then the king suddenly fell ill and passed away. He was cremated at Masryangdinadi-Daroodi Dobhan Ramshah Ghat.
According to the custom of that time, Rani Lilavati also went to sati with King Ramshah. When the devotee Lakhan Thapa mourned and lamented, the queen said, ‘I will appear again in one side of your village to fulfill your wish’. A month after that, in the place where Mankamana is now, when a person was plowing an ox, the plow got stuck, and milk and blood started flowing from it. Lakhan Thapa, who had clairvoyance, performed puja with tantric rituals, and the bleeding stopped, and a temple of the goddess was established on the same site.
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After that incident, the king of Gorkha appointed Lakhan Thapa and his sons as priests to serve Mankamana Mai and gave them a land seal and Virta Lalmohar to perform daily worship. The priest says that the current priest of Manakamana Mai is a seventeen generation descendant of Lakhan Thapa.
Significance of Mankamana Shaktipeeth
Mankamana Shaktipeeth is located in Mankamana gavis, a sacred place in Gorkha district, a temple associated with Nepal’s unification, national unity, integrity, and social harmony. A special pooja is performed in the temple of Bhagwati on the Mahashtami day of Dasain. It is mentioned in history that Prithvi Narayan Shah was able to unify vast Nepal with the grace of Bhagwati and the blessings of Guru Gorakhnath. Devotees from all over the country visit this Shaktipeeth throughout the year to fulfill all their wishes.
Other Temples within the Complex
There are more than 15 temples of deities in this temple complex. One of them is the Vankeshwari temple. This temple is located east of Mankamana temple, where there is a popular belief that if children who are unable to speak or who are limping are seen, the children’s jaws will break, and their limbs will be damaged. Specialty here: Sacrifices are offered on Ashtami day.
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How to Achieve Your Wish?
Manakamana temple can be reached by pedestrians after crossing the small bridge of Ambukhaireniba Masryangdi river on the Prithviraj highway and walking uphill for about 4 hours. If you want to go by Kevalkar, there is a Kevalkar facility called Manakamana Kevalkar which can reach near the Mankamana Mandir complex from Kurintar along the Prithviraj highway. Using this facility, you can reach Mankamana temple.
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If you are going from Kathmandu, you will reach a place called Chares, near Kurintar in Chitwan district after covering about 120 km by bus, car, or motorcycle. For the convenience of you, the pilgrims, there is an arrangement of a car to reach the Mankamana Mandir complex. This facility called Manakamana Kevalkar is the only Kevalkar service in Nepal so far. Through this service, one can reach the temple premises in 10 to 15 minutes.
Location of the Mankamana Temple
This temple is located in the southeast part of Gorkha district headquarters. This temple is located 12 km south of Tanahu, 5 km east of Anvukhaireni, and 26 km north of Chitwan Muglin. Located at an altitude of 1,333 meters above sea level, from the premises of this temple, you can see the Mahabharata Lake and Chimkeshwari hills to the south and the peaks of Annapurni and Manaslu mountains to the north.
Map to Manakamana temple
Abode of Goddess Bhagwati in the Champa Tree
Thousands of devotees visit Gorkha every year to visit the famous Mankana temple. They worship. They sacrifice. Pigeons fly. But no one cares or asks about this Bhimkaya Champa tree in the temple premises. However, the locals say that this champa tree in front of the Mankamana temple is about 400 years old. It looks like the bark of this champ tree with yellow flowers is getting wrinkled due to age. According to the locals, strong lust comes from this tree, which reaches even to Lamjung. According to them, the branches of the trees were broken many times when the wind came.
However, so far, there has been no human or material loss. Therefore, it is believed that Goddess Bhagwati resides in this tree as well. Manokamana Bhagwati Gorkha’s Manakamana is also considered to be an important deity Shaktipeeth. The name Mankamana has come to mean Bhagwati who fulfills the desire of the mind. It is widely believed that Ram Shah’s queen herself was an incarnation of Mankamana Bhagwati. During Dashain, there is a huge crowd of people who come to worship here. Sacrifices are offered here on every Ashtami day.
