The magnificent and beautiful Sri Krishna Mandir is located
on the west side of Patan Durbar Square at Lalitpur, Nepal. The temple was
built in 1637 CE by one of the great Malla kings, Siddhi Narsingh. Carved
entirely in dark stone, the stunning shrine consists of several significant
sculptures and carvings on its outside walls as well as on the interior walls.
The temple has three floors first floor is dedicated to
Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Second floor is dedicated to Mahadeva Shiva in Shivling
form and third floor is dedicated to Lokeshwar.
Patan Durbar Square Krishna Mandir Story
It is said that one night, King Siddhi Narsingh dreamt that
Bhagavan Sri Krishna and Srimati Radha Rani were standing in front of the royal
palace. The King ordered a Mandir to be built on the same spot.
An ardent devotee of Sri Krishna, the King built a replica of the temple inside the Sundari Chowk
courtyard after Bhagavan Sri Krishna helped him in defeating an enemy in a war.
The temple is built in the shikhara style, the shrine has 21
golden pinnacles. Chhatri pavilions seen throughout the temple add to the beauty
of the shrine. Bays of the shrine feature scenes from the Ramayana and
Mahabharata narrated in Newari script.
Sculpture of Vishnu atop Garuda is seen in many places in the
shrine. A freestanding statue of Garuda, mounted upon a pole, is set in front
of the temple. There are sculptures of the 10 avatars of Vishnu Bhagavan on the
outside face of the ground level gallery.
The temple faced structural damage in the massive 2015
earthquake but now it has been restored.