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.