Historical PeriodEra
varies by tradition
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Deities
Guhyeshwari
Guhyeśvarī Mātā — the Secret Goddess, Śakti Pīṭha of Kathmandu
Guhyeśvarī Mātā — the Secret Goddess, Śakti Pīṭha of Kathmandu
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Guhyeśvarī ("the Secret Goddess") is one of the 51 Śakti Pīṭhas — the place where Satī's yoni (or in some traditions her knee) fell. Located near Pashupatinath, she is the consort-counterpart to the Paśupati-Shiva form.
The Guhyeśvarī Temple is walled-off — non-Hindus, and even many Hindus, cannot enter the inner sanctum. The inner image is simply an opening in the ground covered with a silver-plated śrīyantra — the goddess is literally the earth's own yoni. Tantric practitioners regard this as one of the most esoterically-significant pilgrimage sites.
The relationship Pashupatinath–Guhyeshwari is the Kathmandu-valley expression of the cosmic Shiva-Shakti pair. Together they are the founding sacred geography of Hindu Nepal.
