Muktinath Temple—a place to find liberation!

Muktinath Temple—a place to find liberation!

Salvation, liberation and peace… If you are in constant search of these, you must not procrastinate visiting the Muktinath Temple, a place held with high reverence by both the Hindus and the Buddhists. Popularly called ‘Mukti Kshetra’ by the Hindus, it literally translates to ‘a place of liberation’ or where one can expect to find salvation.

Located at a mesmerizing altitude of 3710 meters at Muktinath valley, at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass, it forms a part of Mustang District in Nepal and is close to the Ranipauwa village that is often mistakenly called Muktinath because of the popularity of the temple itself! The Muktinath temple is 106th among the popular 108 Divya Desam or the premium temples.

For Hindus, it is one of the oldest and the most popular places of worship of Lord Vishnu. The interiors of this small temple are decorated by a life size golden statue of god Vishnu, recognized as Mukti Narayana and bronze statues of goddess Saraswati, Janaki, Bhoodevi, Garuda, the sapta rishis and Lava-Kusa. Each one has a historical and religious significance of paramount importance in life of every Hindu. While Bhoodevi is mother earth, a form of goddess Lakshmi, Janaki is goddess Sita, Lava-Kusa are the sons of Lord Rama and the Sapta Rishis, the seven sages known to be created by Lord Brahma. The temple is taken care of by an old Buddhist monk while the prayers are performed by Buddhist nuns.

For Buddhists, the temple is better known as the ‘Muktinath Chumming Gyatsa’ which literally translates to ‘Hundred Waters’ in Tibet. The Tibetan Buddhism recognizes the temple as one among the 24 celebrated Tantric places and a sacred spot for the Sky Dancers, better known as the Dakinis goddesses. It is believed that the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rimpoche who is also popularly known as Padmasambhava, meditated at this place while he was on his way to Tibet.

Apart from the religious significance, a major attraction in the temple is in the form of a semi circular wall behind it that is decorated with 108 stone faucets shaped like a head of a bull. The ice-cold water of Kali Gantaki River flows through all of these and the pilgrims visiting the temple believe it to be pious to walk under all of these during their prayers. The exclusive Shaligram stones that are a predominant requirement for building any Vishnu temple across the world are also sourced from the riverbed of Kali Gantaki.

How to get there?

The popularity of the Muktinath temple among the pilgrims has made it much easier to make it to this pilgrimage. There are several tour companies that have designed special Muktinath Tour Packages and since they are in business for decades, they provide all the specialized services for the tour as well. The Muktinath Tour package can also be customized from individual to individual, depending on their schedule, budget and other requirements. One can choose from among the various packages that start from 2 days and can last for up to a week.

There are several pilgrims who go ahead and visit the Mebar Lha Gomba, (a small monastery that is very close to the entrance gate of the temple) once they have offered prayers at the Muktinath Temple. The monastery is famous for its miraculous fire which is actually a natural gas fire that burns continuously. The Hindus worship it as the goddess of Fire and call it the Jwala Mai. The Muktinath Yatra holds a very special place for every Buddhist and Hindu pilgrim.

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