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Historical PeriodEra
varies by tradition
📷 Bhupendra Shrestha · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · source
Deities
Manakamana
Manakāmanā Devī — the Wish-Fulfilling Goddess of Nepal
Manakāmanā Devī — the Wish-Fulfilling Goddess of Nepal
No primary scriptures are catalogued for this entry yet. If you know of scriptural references we have missed, please contribute them.
Manakāmanā ("she who fulfils the heart's desire") is a major Nepali Shakta shrine atop a hill in Gorkha district. Pilgrims reach her via cable car. Her worship is tied to the Gorkha royal lineage and to every Nepali family's vow-making tradition.
Manakamana's legend is tied to the Gorkha royal dynasty (from which Prithvi Narayan Shah unified Nepal in 1769). A 17th-century queen of Gorkha was possessed by the goddess; upon her widow-self-immolation, she commanded a shrine be built at the hilltop where her form had appeared. The modern Manakamana cable car (completed 1998) rises 2.8 km from Kurintar to the hilltop shrine, making it accessible to elderly pilgrims.
