Nepal: Garuda statue at the Rudra Varna Mahavihar temple, Patan, Kathmandu Valley (1996)

Rudravarna Mahavihara, or Oku Bahal, was built in the mid-17th century. The temple is located around a courtyard which overflows with chaitya and metal figures of all kinds and sizes. There are massive Garudas, elephants, peacocks, figures of praying worshippers and a statue of Juddha Shamsher Rana, who granted the temple generous restoration aid after the earthquake of 1934. In the corners of the courtyard, which is lined with oil lamp railings, there are bronze figures of the mischievous monkey god Hanuman, which show him variously eating a pumpkin, a banana and something which looks like a chapati, the traditional bread of the Indian subcontinent. Some sources suggest that the kings of Patan were crowned in this most elaborate of courtyards. The temple complex is of a square design, and the building housing the main shrine is topped with a two-tiered roof. Inside, a profusely decorated figure of the Akshobhya Buddha is kept. Every day at around 3.30 pm a priest will come to open it up and perform some puja. At the beginning of the puja, the priest stands for a few moments on a pair of gilded, richly ornamented paduka, or sandals, the insignia of kings or deities; by standing on the paduka, the priest invokes the spirit of the gods. Then he beats a longish wooden tube, held over his shoulder, to wake up the deity in whose honour the puja is being held. The rite has probably been conducted in this manner for centuries.