The Bagmati-side shrine of Pashupati, tutelary lord of the whole country, with the priestly town of Deopatan around it.
The temple of 1200 is the building that Shivadeva restored in the first quarter of the twelfth century, not the one that stands now (rebuilt in 1692 after termites and earthquake). A king takes his legitimacy from Pashupati; a claimant who cannot get the shrine to acknowledge him has a problem no army fixes. The temple holds its own endowments (guthi) and its priests are a power the king confirms and cannot command.
Who holds it
- Name
- The priestly households of Pashupati, with the king as patron
- Title
- Priests of Pashupati
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia's Pashupatinath page: the temple was reconstructed by a king Shivadeva (1099-1126); the Bhatta priests and the Rajbhandari treasurers described there are of later times; no priest of 1200 is named.
What the town holds
- the temple and its endowments
- the priestly town
How things stand that morning
The shrine is the first thing a new king must secure; nothing is dated.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Charter
Temple endowments confirmed by the kings; no text of 1200.
Council
The priests; no named head.
Communities
Brahmin and Shaiva priests, ascetics, pilgrims.
Fairs and markets
Not checked.
Walls and castle
No walls.
Trade and crafts
Pilgrim lodging and ritual service.
Places of note
- Pashupatinath: Shiva temple on the Bagmati.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Temple history is well known; the people who held the town in 1200 are not.
On the map: Small.
Primary sources for Nepal valley
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Gopala Raja Chronicle, and the Nepalese colophons, Anonymous (chronicle); various scribes (colophons) (the chronicle about 1389; the colophons are contemporary notes of the 11th to 14th centuries). The Nepal valley in 1200 is known chiefly from dated manuscript colophons and short inscriptions, which name the reigning king with the Nepal era year, and from the Gopalarajavamsavali, a chronicle written about 1389 that lists the kings with regnal years.
- History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu ston Rin chen grub) (1322). Optional background. Read online
- The Blue Annals, Go Lotsawa Zhonnu Pal ('Gos lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal) (1476 to 1478). The fullest Tibetan account of who mattered around 1200, written three centuries later from earlier biographies and lineage records, many now lost. Read online
- The Sakya genealogy, and the works of the Sakya hierarch of 1200, Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (Grags pa rgyal mtshan) and Sakya Pandita; the genealogy by Ngawang Kunga Sonam (the hierarchs' writings about 1170 to 1250; the genealogy 1629). Sakya in 1200 was ruled by Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen, the third of the five founders, with his nephew Kunga Gyaltsen (later Sakya Pandita, born 1182) under his teaching. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.