In the Presence of the Buddha

In the densely packed spaces of Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley, hundreds of Buddhist monastic structures dot the urban landscape. These monastic centers utilize complex visual systems that reiterate the religious beliefs and practices of the Newar Buddhist community. While popular Buddhist culture in the Kathmandu Valley engages in public acts of veneration rooted in Mahayana Buddhist teachings, Newar monasticism is layered with esoteric tantric practices associated with Vajrayana Buddhism.1 Initiation is limited to male members of the Shakya and Vajracharya castes, whose historical titles such as Shakyavamsa (of the Shakya lineage) or Shakyabhikshu (Buddhist monk) reiterate connections to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni.2 The architectural components of monastic structures display elaborate iconographic programs that are activated by daily ritual performance to create dynamic environments for spiritual attainment and communal engagement. Newar monasteries are primarily divided into two architectural types. Bahis are the oldest type and were built as living quarters for celibate renunciants. With the rise of tantric Buddhism, bahas emerged to house new communities of married householder monks who wanted to distinguish themselves from their celibate counterparts.3 While the bahis emphasized worldly renunciation, members of the bahas married and remained engaged with temporal concerns. In having families and initiating their sons into the lineage, these householder monks preserved their monastic heritage with each subsequent generation.4 Despite the end of celibate monasticism in the fifteenth century, the terms bahi and baha remain as references to these historical differences. 

The History of Kwa Baha 

Established in the mid-eleventh century, Kwa Baha is one of the most important monastic complexes in the Kathmandu Valley. Its official Sanskrit name, Bhaskaradeva Samskarita Hiranyavarna Mahavihara, reiterates its position as one of the great monastic centers (mahavihara) of the valley. Located in the city of Patan, Kwa Baha was established by the Thakuri king Bhaskara Deva (r. 1045–1048) to house a metal image of the Buddha discovered in the ruins of an ancient monastery that now serves as the main shrine image of the complex (fig. 1).5 Affectionately called Kwabaju, the Buddha image is adorned with elaborate repoussé ornaments. The Kvabahaya Vamshavali chronicles the history of the site, asserting that the statue came to the king in a dream and requested a space be built for its veneration.6 The Buddha provided the king with a specific set of requirements for his preferred location, including a pond that had not dried up since Manjushri drained the valley’s lake and a place where rats chase cats. In the end, the king came upon a golden rat chasing a cat and proclaimed the site as the location for the Buddha’s new shrine. While the actual origins of the image are not fully known, these narratives provide insight into the importance of sacred space, the agency of religious imagery, and the role of the community in caring for the divine. The agency of the image to secure a location of their choosing, while remarkable, is not particularly unique in Newar culture, as there is a universal belief that the sculpted form serves as a vessel for the divine and can act for the benefit of the embodied divine spirit. In examining the shrine image at Kwa Baha, we can understand how Newar Buddhists have positioned their Buddhist identity within the larger context of Himalayan ritual culture. 

The Layout of the Baha 

Newar monastic architecture is incredibly localized, with members generally living in the immediate vicinity of their family’s monastic complex. The layout of Kwa Baha includes the three mandatory elements of baha architecture—namely, a votive stupa (chaitya), a public shrine deity (kvahpah dyah), and a secret esoteric shrine (agam). For Newar Buddhists, the married householder monks of the Vajracharya and Shakya castes are responsible for caring for the main shrine deity, in addition to conducting tantric rituals in the esoteric shrine. At Kwa Baha, these elements are built around a central courtyard, with its entrance on the east side and a large three-tiered pagoda on its western side. At the center is a large open pagoda housing a votive stupa of the Svayambhu Mahachaitya (fig. 2). The stupa generates the sacred geography of the space, serving as the center of the mandala, just as the Svayambhu Stupa generates the sacred geography of the Kathmandu Valley.7 This votive stupa (fig. 3) serves as the lineage deity (Newar: digu dyah; Sanskrit: kula devata) for the monastery, meaning the members of the community acknowledge this deity as their common lineage ancestor and see themselves as descendants.8

An axial arrangement governs the space of this architectural mandala, with the entrance located across from the main shrine. Directly above this public shrine is the secret shrine dedicated to the tantric deity Chakrasamvara and his consort, Vajravarahi. Access to this shrine is limited to the most senior members of the community (Ajus) who have received tantric initiation (diksha). In the cells surrounding the central courtyard are small subsidiary shrines dedicated to other deities of the Buddhist pantheon. 

The Main Shrine Image

At Kwa Baha, the physical form of the main shrine image is often obscured by layers of offerings adorning the image, which include elaborate repoussé covers, inlaid jewelry, flower garlands, and offering scarves (fig. 4). During rituals and celebrations, offerings to the Buddha are managed by attendants, who place them at the base of the throne. When unadorned, the form of the metal image emerges, along with iconographic features of the throne that allow for a proper identification of this buddha (fig. 5). The seated figure wears monastic robes that tightly cling to his body. Small curls form his hair and cranial bump (ushnisha) on the top of his head. His right hand is outstretched in the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsha mudra), while his left rests in his lap, holding an offering bowl.

Although the visual features are similar to those of Buddha Shakyamuni, the appearance of elephants and a vajra in the throne base identify him as Buddha Akshobhya. As one of the five celestial buddhas that comprise the Five Buddha mandala, Akshobhya symbolizes the beginning of the path to enlightenment. Buddhist texts describe how seeing the Buddha can foster devotion and lead one on the bodhisattva path. As the main shrine deity, Akshobhya provides an opportunity for practitioners to engage in acts of worship and veneration; they can see the Buddha, be inspired by his presence, and accrue spiritual merit. 

Stylistic and Dating Considerations

From the sixth century on, Newar Buddhist art developed in response to cultural contact with northern Indian dynasties. Visual features notable in Gupta art would inform Newar art from the fifth to ninth centuries. By the Transitional or Thakuri period (ca. 878–ca. 1200), the Kathmandu Valley was a destination for those wanting to engage with the Mahayana-Vajrayana teachings practiced by Newar ritual masters from India, who brought with them new artistic styles. While Gupta influences continued into the ninth and tenth centuries of the Thakuri period, forms became stiffer, reflecting influence from Pala artistic developments from northeastern India. The wide chest, elongated torso, slim waist, and round face of the seated image at Kwa Baha are characteristic of Gupta and later Pala visual conventions. The Buddha’s full face, large lips, well-defined eyebrows, and posture recall crowned Buddha images from the eleventh-century Pala period. However, here the rounder face and elongated torso demonstrate Newar stylistic aesthetics.

Most scholars accept an eleventh-century date for the Kwa Baha Buddha, yet both the Kvabahaya Vamshavali chronicles and local narratives describe the work as predating the building of the monastic complex. If we accept that King Bhaskara Deva established the monastery during his reign, it would place the founding of the baha between 1045 and 1048, which would give the mid-eleventh century as the latest possible date for this sculpture . Conversely, the Kvabahaya Vamshavali recounts that the metal sculpture, one of the finest ever made, was hidden by earlier sculptors for fear it would be stolen.9 After being lost to time, it was discovered by farmers and pulled from the ground, when it was ultimately presented to King Bhaskara Deva. This could place the origin of the image several centuries earlier. Similarly, some at Kwa Baha described the shrine image as the brother to Jowo Mikyo Dorje, the seventh-century buddha image at the Ramoche Temple in Lhasa. This image is believed to have been brought to Lhasa from Nepal by the Newar princess Bhrikuti Devi when she married King Songtsen Gampo in 632 CE.10 In placing the history of this image in the distant past, these narratives also connect Newar Buddhism in the Kathmandu Valley to important Tibetan dynasties. Although an earlier date for the Kwa Baha shrine image is not certain, surviving material and epigraphic evidence at Kwa Baha suggests that the site had Licchavi (ca. 300–ca. 879 CE) foundations but was rebuilt and restored to follow the present Vajrayana iconographic program in the eleventh century under the direction of King Bhaskara Deva.11 

Shrine Complex as Architectural Palimpsest 

The attention given to Kwa Baha and its elaborate monastic complex is owed in part to the continued patronage and active monastic community that has cared for the site for the last millennium. The organizational structure of membership, initiation rituals, and utilization of trusts (guthi) to sustain economic support of material and ritual practices weave together ancient traditions with contemporary cultural practices. Generations have maintained the art and architectural heritage of the site through renovations and expansions. This upkeep of the site has created layers of visual culture representing hundreds of years of development, allowing this space to function as an architectural palimpsest. Sites like Kwa Baha, where medieval origins engage with ancient narratives in ever-changing definitions of contemporary ritual veneration, demonstrate that these spaces are not fixed in the ancient past. They have an active living history that evolves, expands, and reaffirms Buddhist ritual and cultural identity with each generation.