Sacred places in Nepal: Godawari

In the Dakini terma revealed by Jikme Lingpa, the Yumka Dechen Gyalmo, there is mention of the twenty-four great sacred places, and one of them is Godawari. As is says in the sadhana:

The left ear is the land of Godavari,

It should be noted that this enumeration is a bit different from the Hevajra tantra. Also, finding the exact physical location of these sacred places is not always an easy matter, and thus inevitably for some places there are several possibilities. In Nepal, both the region of Lapchi, where Milarepa meditated, and a small town just south of Kathmandu are considered to be Godawari. This is not to say that one is authentic and the other is not. It’s more about the qualities present at a certain site. Now, here we will look at the town of Godawari just below Kathmandu.

How to get there

From Kathmandu, you can take any bus on the ring road going to the most southern point of the ring road called Satdobato. From there, get into a mini bus going to Godawari. It will take about half an hour. Once you get to Godawari, walk along with the road bending to the left. You’ll need to walk a few minutes and then you’ll arrive at the town of Godawari.

The sacred place of Godawari

Godawari

If you continue walking , on your right side you will see a few monasteries, and then a bit further on is the sacred site of Godawari. There is a basin of water outside the temple, which has an inner part that might be locked. Inside there is the source, with shrines on both sides.

A rock shrine to the right of the source

Monasteries around Godawari

Currently there are two monastery’s in godawari, with a third one being in the making. The first one is a retreat center founded by Chatral Rinpoche, called rang dbang zhi bde chos kyi skyed tshal. It has a beautiful garden with stupa’s. 

Chatral Rinpoche's retreat center

Stupa's in the garden

The second one is a monastery related to the people of the region of Tsum in Nepal, called Osal Choling, founded by Sherab Tendar Rinpoche and now headed by Lama Sherab Rinpoche. Interestingly, in the region of Tsum there is a strong tradition of practice by lay people. The monastery is dedicated to retreats on Konchok Chidu, the revelation of Jatson Nyingpo. The third one, currently being constructed, is called snga 'gyur rdzogs chen shrI sing+ha ling rtogs chos gling.

(Special thanks to Mr. Mang for all his clarifications on sacred places)