Guheswari, the goddess for the legal problems

The temple of Guheswari is one of the major Shakti Peeth of Nepal. The temple on the left bank of the holy river Bagmati is about 250m from the Pashupatinath temple. It is a temple of Sati Devi, wife of Lord Shiva. It is believed that the legal problems of her devotees will be solved if they conduct a puja in the temple.



As the legend goes, King Dakshya Prajapati was not happy with his daughter Sati Devi for choosing Lord Shiva as her husband. One day, he organized the Asvamedha Yagya where all the gods, goddesses, saints and humans were invited except for Lord Shiva and Sati Devi. Despite being uninvited, she decided to go there. She, however, could not bear the insulting words her father said for her husband and jumped into the sacred fire of the Yagya. Lord Shiva on hearing this became furious and sent two demons to destroy the Yagya. He cut the King’s head when he reached there and the head fell into the sacred fire. However, at the request of all the gods and goddess, he decided to bring the king back to life. As the head was already burned, he ordered them to bring the head of the first living being they find. The head of a goat was brought and attached to king’s body. Lord Shiva took his beloved’s dead body and roamed around the world in grief and madness. This continued for a long time that made the gods worried and they planned to decompose Sati’s dead body. Her body parts fell one by one everywhere he went until nothing was left. The places where the parts of her body fell came to be known as the Shakti Peeths. The temple of Guheswari is one of them. The temple was built in the same spot where the yoni (female organ) of Sati Devi fell.

It is one of the most significant temples for the Hindus. There is no statue of the Goddess inside the temple but a replica of her yoni, which is usually covered by a karuwa. Devotees from the Newari community offer eggs, alcohol, etc. to the Goddess and the temple gives an unusual odor.

It is believed that the couples who are married here become the soul mate for next six births just as Lord Shiva and Devi Sati were. It is also said that if someone is having a legal problem, worshipping at the Guheswari temple will solve the problem.

Hence, the Guheswari Devi not only holds the power for making the couples (who are married here) soul mates for next six births but also for solving the legal problems of her devotees.