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Nepali sculpture. It was made by Lichchhavi king Mandev. The image of Yakshya
and Birupakshya are also the ancient sculpture of Nepal. We visited Pashupatinath
temple. I saw many temples of gods and goddesses. In Aryaghat of Pashupati area I
saw the statue of Birupakshaya also.

Do you know Ruchika? Kathmandu is called the city of temples. Many sculpture
were characterized by religious theme neutrality and simplicity made in Lichchhavi
period. All the images inside or on the premises of the Changu Narayan temple, idol
of Palanchowk Bhagawati, Budhanilkantha and many carved stone taps are some of
the finest examples of Lichchhivi sculpture .

Do you know which sculptures? I have observed the most beautiful ones? Listen!
I have observed the image of Narayan (Bishnu). Sleeping on snakes on water at
Budhanilkantha the most beautiful. I found it is a wonderful creation of Nepal
sculpture. It is a very big image but is believed to have been made up of a single
stone. The art manifested there is highly amazing. Many people from Kathmandu
and surroundings visit there regularly.

Ruchika, you know that after the Lichchhavi Period sculpture was flourished during
Malla period. Statues were made up of stone and wood in the Lichchhavi period
but in the Malla period metal statues became popular. Some of the popular images
during Malla period were Ganesh, Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Laxmi, Saraswati, Buddha
are available in the Kathmandu valley. I visited Banepa and there I saw the idols
of Suryanath of Banepa, Vishnu, Ugrachandi and Bhairav at Bhakatpur, Narshing
at Hanumandhoka, etc. are some of the examples of excellence in sculpture during
theMalla period, Narasimha of Hanumandhoka and Garuda of Mahankal are examples
of the Malla period. Similarly, the gates of Taleju temple in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and
Bhaktapur the golden gate of Bhaktapur Durbar, the golden taps of Patan, statues of
the Malla kings and the doors of temples show the development of sculpture during
the Malla period. So the Malla period was known as the golden period.

Do you know that the sculptures development was also continued in Shah
Dynasty? Yes, Shah rulers also continued the art and paintings but they were
not much interested to flourish sculpture as they were highly focused in extending
territory. The Rana rulers showed their interest to make their own statues. Many
statues made during the Rana period and the Shah Period were destroyed during
Maoist insurgency, but during different occasions the images of deities like Kali,
Durga, Saraswoti are made and worshipped in the Terai.

Nepali art and culture is highly influenced by religion. So Nepali sculptures are
valued mainly from their religious perspective. Despite of their values and importance
Nepalese people are not much interested to buy statues and keep them for decoration.
Therefore, statues have more demands in developed countries. There is still more
scope to develop sculpture. They are:

Dynamic Social Studies - Book IX 84