Boudhanath Stupa

Boudhanath is a Buddhist temple and the oldest Buddhist temple in Kathmandu Valley. It is pronunced as “bouddha” or “bauddha” by Newar of Kathmandu. It is believed to have existed in the 6th century, and was again expanded and reconstructed in the 14th century. It was built by the late king of Nepalese Licchavi king. The stupa was constructed by mother “Jijima” who used to look after chickens. She used to stay with her four children. She used to look after the chickens, so she was called “Jijima”. Her first son’s name was “khijebu” who used to look after the dogs. Her second son’s name was “Tajebu” who used to look after the horses. Furthermore, her last son’s name was “Fajebu” who used to look after the pigs. They were from a poor family. Mother Jijima always wanted to build a big stupa. So, she went to ask for land to construct it to Licchivi king “king Bikram Aditya”. She asked for the land that only occupied ox skin. King gave the land for the construction. So due to this, the stupa is also called “jarung kashor”. Jarung means “it will happen” and kashor means “slip of tongue”.she changed the ox skin into a rope and covered the land where the recent stupa exists. Ama Jijima and four sons started constructing the stupa. Ama Jijima passed away after she completed “Gumbaz”, the dome-like structure. The four sons then completed the stupa. After the completeness of the stupa Buddha and Bodhisattva started involving. The Buddhas and Bodhisattva wanted to fulfill the wish of four brothers. The elder brother made a wish, “To become a dharma king to promote Buddhism”. The next brother made a wish, “to help his brother to spread the dharma”. The next brother made a wish, “To be a monk to pass on the ancestry of ordination in Tibet”. The youngest son asked to become a powerful yogi when there are hurdles to spread the dharma in the world. In the next life, the oldest brother became the dharma king “Songster Gampo” in Tibet. The second brother became the minister “Padma Gungtsen” in Tibet. The third brother became a monk, “Shantarakshita”, and the fourth brother became “padmasambhava”.