Swayambhunath: The Monkey Temple Is the Wrong Name for It
Swayambhunath has been called the Monkey Temple since Western visitors noticed the primates, erasing 2,000 years of Buddhist significance. What the stupa actually is and what it means to the Newari Buddhist community.
By six in the morning, the stupa is already in use. Newari Buddhist women in red and green patasi walk the circumambulation path clockwise, their lips moving. A monk adjusts a butter lamp in one of the small temples along the base. Pigeons land and lift from the gilded spire. The monkeys, which are what most visitors come expecting, have not yet descended from the trees.
Later in the morning, a group of foreign visitors will arrive and someone will say 'Monkey Temple,' and the name will stick to the morning like an afterthought. It has been the dominant name in English since Western visitors first noticed the primates. It has nothing to do with what the site is.
What the Name Erases
Swayambhunath - the name translates roughly as 'self-arisen lord' - refers to a flame of light that, according to the Swayambhu Purana, emerged spontaneously from a lotus in the primordial lake that covered the Kathmandu Valley before Manjushri drained it. The stupa marks the spot where that flame rested. It has been a pilgrimage site since at least the 5th century CE, and possibly earlier. The recorded pilgrims include Ashoka, Vasubandhu, Santaraksita, and Nagarjuna - who lived and studied here for twelve years.
Calling it the Monkey Temple is like naming Notre-Dame the Pigeon Church.
The monkeys are not incidental. They are embedded in the founding mythology. According to the Swayambhu Purana, the primates at the site are descendants of the lice that fell from Manjushri's hair when he cut it to drain the lake. The monkeys belong here in the same sense the stupa does. The difference is that Western visitors noticed the monkeys first, and the name followed the noticing rather than the meaning.
The Structure
The stupa's dome represents the world. Rising from the dome is a square tower, each face painted with a pair of eyes - the eyes of the Buddha, looking in all four cardinal directions. Above the tower, thirteen stacked rings represent the Trayodashabhuvana: the thirteen stages of Buddhist practice on the path toward liberation. A Newari Buddhist looking at the stupa does not see architecture. They see a map.
The eyes are the most photographed element of Swayambhunath and also the most misread. The nose between them is not a nose: it is the Nepali numeral one, representing unity, or in some readings the single path. Most visitor photographs crop out the stupa entirely and keep only the eyes, which removes the map and keeps only the most legible detail. The stupa does not function better as a detail.
Along the base of the stupa are shrines to both Buddhist and Hindu deities - Hariti, goddess of smallpox and childbirth, has a temple here where infants are still brought. The Vajra, a ritual thunderbolt symbolising indestructibility, sits on a stone plinth at the eastern gate. It was placed there in the 15th century during the reign of King Yaksha Malla. It is still there.
Who Maintains It
The Bajracharya and Shakya lineages - Newari Buddhist priestly castes - have custodianship over Swayambhunath. This is not a ceremonial role. They conduct the rituals, maintain the shrines, and govern access to the inner sanctum. The custodianship predates the tourism economy by centuries.
In 2010, a restoration of the stupa's spire required 20 kilograms of gold. The funding came from a Californian institution. The community custodians carried out the work. The question of who pays for and who maintains an active pilgrimage site visited by several hundred thousand people annually is one that the Newari Buddhist community navigates without resolving - the two economies run in parallel, neither entirely comfortable with the other.
The 2015 earthquake damaged parts of the complex, including several of the surrounding temples. Some have been restored; others have not. The circumambulation path itself was undamaged. Pilgrims continued walking it within days of the earthquake.
What to Do When You Arrive
The stupa is reached by climbing 365 steps from the eastern gate - one for each day of the year, according to tradition. The western road entrance is accessible by vehicle but provides a much less useful arrival: you miss the ascent, which is where the approach becomes legible. Arrive before 8 AM and the circumambulation path has room. Arrive after 10 AM and it has tourists.
Walk the path clockwise. This is not a rule you need to be told if you watch what the Newari pilgrims do - clockwise is the direction they walk, which is the direction you walk. Spin the prayer wheels as you pass them, right hand only, clockwise. Don't touch the statue bases. Don't enter any shrine you are not invited to enter. Don't hand food to the monkeys: they will take it from you with or without permission, and the encounter is less charming when it is involuntary.
The best view of the Kathmandu Valley is from the terrace above the stupa, available to everyone who climbs the steps. The valley spreads west and south - on a clear morning in October, you can see as far as the Ganesh Himal range. On most days in July you cannot see the end of the street. Both versions of the view are the view.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Swayambhunath mean?
'Self-arisen lord' - referring to a flame of light that emerged spontaneously from a lotus in the primordial lake, according to the Swayambhu Purana. The stupa marks the resting place of that flame.
Why is Swayambhunath called the Monkey Temple?
Western visitors named it for the primates that live at the site. According to the founding mythology, those monkeys descended from the lice in Manjushri's hair when he cut it to drain the valley's primordial lake. The name reflects what visitors noticed first, not what the site is.
Is Swayambhunath a Hindu or Buddhist temple?
Both. The main stupa is Buddhist, maintained by Bajracharya and Shakya custodians. Several surrounding shrines are Hindu, including the Hariti temple. The site has been shared between Newari Buddhist and Hindu communities for centuries.
How old is the Swayambhunath stupa?
The site has been a pilgrimage destination since at least the 5th century CE. Ashoka is recorded as having visited in the 3rd century BCE, though the current structure dates to later periods. Nagarjuna, one of Buddhism's most influential philosophers, studied here for twelve years.
What is the significance of the eyes on Swayambhunath?
The eyes of the Buddha on the square tower face all four cardinal directions. Between them is the Nepali numeral one, representing unity or the single path. Above the tower, thirteen stacked rings represent the thirteen stages of Buddhist practice toward liberation. The stupa is a map, not a monument.
