MAIN ENTRANCE - GAURI SHANKER DWAR (Dwar is Nepali name for the door)
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| Main Entrance of Narayanhiti Palace Museum |
Narayanhiti Palace Museum stands on an area of 40820 sq feet and it has three wings: The guest wing, the state wing and the private wing each consisiting of approximately 30 rooms. Nepal has 14 zones and 75 districts. Every rooms are named after the districts. Among them only 19 rooms rooms from all the state wings are open to the public visitors. While the main doors are nammed after the mountains of Nepal. Like the front door is named after Gauri Shanker Mountain. One can find other doors named as Sagarmatha (The Mount Everest), Mount Annapurna, Ganesh Himal, Dhaulagiri Himal, etc.
MAIN GATE -
The 24 feet wide main gate opens into the palace premises. Seven traditional stone conduits stand on both sides of the main driveway with the images of the serpent deities, the nagas carved on them. A little farther down the western drive sit the images of Hanuman and Kumari under the canopy, a bronze idol of Shahasrabhuja Lokheshwar (the thousand armed lord of the universe) is flaked by two lions. In front of the main stairs are two cannons facing south. These cannons date back to the time of King Surendra (1829-1881).
The 24 feet wide main gate opens into the palace premises. Seven traditional stone conduits stand on both sides of the main driveway with the images of the serpent deities, the nagas carved on them. A little farther down the western drive sit the images of Hanuman and Kumari under the canopy, a bronze idol of Shahasrabhuja Lokheshwar (the thousand armed lord of the universe) is flaked by two lions. In front of the main stairs are two cannons facing south. These cannons date back to the time of King Surendra (1829-1881).
MAIN STAIRS
The 45 feet main stairs with 33 steps is decked with five pairs of stone sculptures: A pair of fish symbolic of swiftness, fertility and good luck;dancing peacocks symbolizing wisdom, charm and gaiety; two horses traditionally known for their endurance and reliability; a pair of elephants celebrated for memory power and success; and last in succession come a pair of legendry lions known for valour, prowess and majesty.
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| Employees of Narayanhiti Palace Museum in front of the Gauri Shanker dwar |
Marble steps lead to the main entrance with two sides entrances. In front of the main entrance, four wooden columns carved with the auspicious symbols of lotus, pitches and fruit leaves support a traditional Nepali roof. Coiling serpents on the main entrance contains engravings of traditional auspicious silver water jars and swastikas on the lower portion, a pair of ivory eyes at the centre and ganesh and kumar on the upper portion. The figure of Uma Maheshwara (the benevolent form of Lord Shiva) with his consort Uma on his lap overlooks the main entrance. The top crossbeam of the entrance, the toran has carvings of the images of Ashta Matrika (the mother goddess in her 8 manifestations symbolic of creation, growth, knowledge, wealth, nourishment, strength, protection and shelter) portrayed in gold figures on a round silver frame. The Ashta Mangal (the eight auspicious symbol); Shree Vatsa - chest of Lord Bishnu, lotus, umbrella, water jar, whisk, a pair of fish, religious banner and conch; flanked the Ashta Matrika with 4 figures on the crossbeam of each side entrance. The western side entrance displays engravings of an auspicious water jar, Nagakanya (the sacred serpent maiden), an anthromorphic image of the moon riding a deer and four symbols of the Ashta Mangal topped by Laxmi (the goddess of wealth).
