Muktinath Temple

Muktinath sits in the Muktinath Valley of Mustang District, in Nepal's trans-Himalayan rain-shadow at the foot of the Thorong La pass, at an elevation of roughly 3,710-3,800 metres (about 12,000-12,500 feet). This makes it one of the highest active temples of worship in the world. Its name combines the Sanskrit words mukti (liberation, moksha) and nath (lord), so the site is venerated as 'the Lord of Liberation'; the surrounding sacred zone is called Mukti Kshetra, 'the place of liberation'.

The site's sanctity is far older than its present buildings. Hindu tradition reveres the place from ancient times, and the philosopher Adi Shankaracharya is associated by tradition with promoting it as a pilgrimage destination. For Tibetan Buddhists the valley is bound up with Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), the eighth-century founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who is said to have meditated at Muktinath on his journey to Tibet.

The present pagoda-style central shrine is comparatively recent. It was built in the early nineteenth century under the patronage of Queen Subarna Prabha (Suvarna Prabha), with construction generally dated to around 1815. The temple thus layers a modern Nepali pagoda over a pilgrimage tradition that both Hindu and Buddhist communities had already shared on the same ground for centuries.

Muktinath is one of the rare shrines holy to two faiths at once, and it is celebrated in Nepal as a symbol of Hindu-Buddhist religious harmony. To Hindus it is an abode of Vishnu; to Tibetan Buddhists the same image is revered as a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all the Buddhas.

In the Hindu tradition Muktinath holds an extraordinary rank. It is counted among the 108 Divya Desams of Sri Vaishnavism celebrated by the Tamil Alvar saints, and it is the only one of those 108 located outside India. It is further classed among the eight Svayam Vyakta Kshetras (self-manifested shrines of Vishnu) and is one of the Char Dham of Nepal. The image (murti) in the sanctum is described as gold and about the size of a man, with Vishnu worshipped here together with his consorts.

For Buddhists the place is known in Tibetan as Chumig Gyatsa, meaning 'Hundred Waters', and it is reckoned one of the twenty-four Tantric power-places of Tibetan Buddhism. The valley is associated with the dakinis, the 'sky-dancer' goddesses, and the resident nuns of the complex are themselves regarded as embodiments of these dakinis. Muktinath is also linked, in the wider sacred geography, with the Kali Gandaki river below it, which is regarded as the source of the shaligram (saligrama) stones, the dark ammonite fossils worshipped as aniconic forms of Vishnu, which draws pilgrims to the valley and its river gorge.

The heart of the complex is a small Nepali pagoda temple with a multi-tiered roof, set within a walled courtyard high on the bare Himalayan slope. Inside the sanctum stands the gold image of Vishnu, roughly life-sized, attended by images of his consorts. The compact scale of the shrine is in keeping with its remote, high-altitude setting rather than the monumental size of lowland temples.

The temple's most distinctive feature is in the outer courtyard (prakaram): a semicircular wall of 108 water spouts known as the mukti dharas. Each spout is cast in the form of an animal head, and through them flows icy water channelled from the mountain streams. The number 108 is deliberately symbolic, representing the sacred waters of all 108 Divya Desams. Behind and beside the spouts lie two sacred kunds (ponds) within the compound.

A short distance from the main shrine stands the small Jwala Mai (Jwala Devi) temple, famous for its naturally burning flame. A jet of natural gas seeping from the rock keeps a small fire alight, and in the same recess flame and spring water sit side by side. This perpetual flame, together with the 108 spouts and the ponds, gives Muktinath its reputation as a place where the elements coexist, and it is one of the features that draws both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims.

The central pilgrim ritual at Muktinath is purification by water. Devotees traditionally bathe beneath all 108 of the freezing mukti dharas in turn and then immerse in the two kunds, believing the icy waters wash away sin and karmic impurity and bring liberation. The ritual is performed despite the extreme cold and high altitude, and is the climax of most Hindu pilgrimages to the site.

Worship at the shrine is shared between the two traditions, with daily care passing between Hindu and Buddhist practitioners; the resident Tibetan Buddhist nuns of the adjacent gompa act as custodians of the complex. This cooperative arrangement is widely cited as a living example of inter-religious coexistence.

The valley's best-known communal festival is Yartung, celebrated around August-September. A harvest festival of the Mustang highlands, it features horse races and gatherings at the village of Ranipauwa below the temple, drawing people from surrounding villages and from neighbouring Manang. Buddhists of the valley also keep Lhosar (the Tibetan new year) and lama-dance festivals, while Hindu pilgrims arrive in large numbers around occasions such as Janai Purnima, when bathing at Muktinath is considered especially meritorious.

Muktinath lies above the village of Ranipauwa (sometimes called Muktinath village), a cluster of hotels, lodges and guest houses that serves pilgrims and trekkers. From Ranipauwa the temple is reached on foot or by short pony ride up the slope; the surrounding services make it possible to stay overnight close to the shrine and adjust to the altitude.

Most visitors approach via Jomsom, the administrative centre of Mustang. A common route is to fly Kathmandu to Pokhara, take an early-morning short flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, and then continue by jeep up to Muktinath; overland travellers drive from Pokhara to Jomsom and on by jeep, a longer multi-day journey. Helicopter day tours from Kathmandu and Pokhara have also become popular for those short on time. Muktinath is additionally the final high point of the classic Annapurna Circuit trek, reached by crossing the Thorong La pass (about 5,416 m) from the Manang side.

Because Muktinath stands at roughly 3,700-3,800 metres, weather and altitude govern the visit. The most reliable months are generally spring (around March to May/June) and autumn (around September to November), when skies are clearer and the high passes and roads are less affected by snow; winter brings cold and snowfall, and the summer monsoon brings cloud and travel disruption to the lower approaches. Visitors should allow time to acclimatise and dress for cold even in the warmer months.