Maju Deval

Kathmandu

This 17th-century temple was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. All that remains is the temple's nine-stage ochre platform.

The temple dated from 1690 and was built by the mother of Bhaktapur’s king Bhupatindra Malla. The large, triple-roofed temple had erotic carvings on its roof struts and a Shiva lingam (phallic symbol) inside. At the bottom of the temple stairway on the east side was a small white temple to Kama Deva, the Hindu god of love and desire. It was built in the Indian shikhara style, with a tall corn cob–like spire.

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