Rato (Red) Machhindranath temple

The Rato (Red) Machhindranath temple, the god of rain and plenty comes in a variety of incarnations (Figure 3.6). To Buddhists he is the Tantric edition of Avalokiteshvara while to Hindus he is another version of Shiva. The temple’s four elaborately carved doorways are each guarded by lion figures and at ground level on the four corners of the temple plinth are reliefs of a curious yeti-like creature. A diverse collection of animals (including peacocks, horses, bulls, lions, elephants, and fish) top the pillars facing the northern side of the months of the year. The metal roof is supposed by struts, each showing Avalokiteshvara standing above figures being tortured in hell. Prayer wheels are set into the base of the temple.
The Machhindranath image is just a crudely carved piece of red-painted wood, but each year during the Rato Machhindranath celebrations it is paraded around the town on a temple chariot. The complex celebration moves the image from place to place over a period of several weeks in the month of Baishakh (April/May), finally ending at Jawalakhel where the chariot is disassembled.
Occurring on a 12 year cycle the procession continues out of Patan to the village of Bungamati, 5 km to the south. Dragging the heavy Chariot along this bumpy and often uphill track is no easy feat.