The neighbourhood (tol) of Kilagal, in Kathmandu, is important not only because it is the seat of a local living goddess (Kumârî, “Virgin”) selected from the Newar farmers’ (Jyapu) caste, but also because there rises the important Buddhist monastery of Jana, devoted to a famous manifestion of the Bodhisattva Avalokitèshvara known as Sveta Matsyendranâtha.

The cult of Ganesha in Nepal dates from the 4th century, when the country came to be ruled by the Indian dynasty of the Licchavis, and from the 15th century the god’s popularity overshadowed that of his elder brother, Kârtikkeya. The popularity enjoyed by Ganesha in Nepal is huge: shrines are devoted to him in every neighbourhood in the Valley and several male babies are given his name. As in the case of the most important deities, such as Vishnu, four sanctuaries were dedicated to him in strategic positions, guarding the four sections of the Nepal Mandala or Valley.

Ganesha’s importance is due to his power of eliminating or creating obstacles, a gift that he received from his father, Shiva, to make up for the curse cast by the latter’s consort, Parvatî, furious because the handsome Ganesha was the fruit of a fling by her husband, and deformed her stepson giving him the head of an elephant and a huge belly. A number of legends accounts for Ganesha’s features and attributes, but his remote origins are probably to be found in the host of demigods and theriomorphic demons belonging to Shiva’s retinue, and known as “Ganas”, of whom Ganesha ended up becoming the chief as shown by his name, which is the contraction of a compound epithet meaning Ganas’ Lord (Ishvara).

Ganesha’s image may be also carved or painted on the wooden struts supporting the roofs of Newar religious buildings and palaces. His chief attributes are the axe, held in his upper left hand, the noose, held in his lower left hand, the plate — here a bowl — of sweet, held in his middle left hand, the elephant goad, held in his lower right hand, the broken tusk, held in his middle right hand, and the rosary (mâlâ), held in his upper right hand. In Nepal the broken tusk is regularly replaced with a white radish that is part of the Nepalese traditional diet and is represented with the leaves protruding out of the root. Ganesha wears a snake as a necklace and is flanked here by two manifestations of his father, Shiva — to whose phallic manifestation the state temple of Pashupatinâtha is dedicated in the Nepal Valley — here in his wrathful aspect of Bhàirava.

The triad is surrounded by an arch displaying Gàruda flying at the top, under a canopy of snakes and a royal parasol, his wings fully opened and his claws grasping the bodies of the King and Queen of Snakes (Nâgas), the guardians of the treasures hidden in the depths of waters and of the earth. Gàruda is the carrier of the god of preservation, Vishnu, of whom the rulers of the Nepal Valley were regarded as manifestations, and the “tòrana” was carved when Kathmandu was ruled by king Mahindrasimha, of the Malla dynasty, who is remembered for having invited Muslim people to settle in the city to manufacture perfumes and bangles, and to serve as court musicians3. A pair of huge Màkaras, sea-monsters dwelling in the ocean, vomit garlands of jewels, standing with their short legs on lotus flowers at the sides of the triad, while two celestial nymphs

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