Pimbahaapukhu revisited

A historical pond located at Pimbahaa (in between Gaabahaa and Patandhoka) in Lalitpur is Pimbhaapukhu which is also called Pimbahal Pond. This is an artificial pond built in the 14th century. The pond is also known as Jagamadupukhu (or a pond without foundation).

The historical site has been highlighted by media recently as President Bidya Bhandari visited the place to witness post-renovation of the site. This was destroyed by the earthquake of 2015. It was renovated in 2017 restoring its original look.

The earthquake of 1934 also had devastated it but renovated. The renovation of this time made it much attractive restoring all artefacts and architecture. The pond’s restoration after 1934 was based on a painting by Henry Ambrose Oldfield.

In 1967, the Nepalese government tried to turn the pond into a marketplace, but locals resisted remain as a historic and religious site.

There are various legends concerning how the pond was built. Some say that around the 14th century, Pimbahal was just empty ground. During the day, it was an active place but at night, it was said to be wandered by Lakheys, in Nepalese folklore are type of unseen but humanlike demons who bear lot of muscle power. Lakheys come every night and make loud noises, break into homes, scare children and cause a disturbance in the area. Then Trantrik practitioner Gayo Bajya, a local resident became annoyed by their acts. So he used his Tantrik power to control them and made them dig a pond, because he thought that as long as the ground existed, the Lakheys would keep coming, destroying and disturbing locals. 

According to another legend, a Lakhey’s wife had to travel far away to get water during wintertime because the taps would run dry. There were no ponds in Lalitpur during that time and, not wanting to see his wife have to walk far, the demon built the Pimbahaapukhu in one night.

On the north side of the pond, there is aa temple of goddess Chandeswari which was built in 1663 and also near Pimbahaapukhu, there situates a Sstupa that was damaged by Muslim invaders in 1357.

Pimbahaa locality is made up of various castes including Rajopadhyay (Brahmins), Shrestha, Shakyas, Maharjans (farmers),Kapalis (musicians and caretaker of the temples) and Dasanaami Sanyaasis.

It is also believed that there is a mysterious stone in the pond. The magical stone in the pond that remains hidden in the water most of the year.

It is only visible during the winter months when the level of water is low. The locals ascribe magical power of this stone to be powerful enough to turn day into night. In fact, the more people study this site, the more intriguing it gets. History is often intertwined with myth and Gayo Bajya was indeed a real man. 

In the 1950s, Gayo Bajya’s house near the pond was excavated and to everyone’s surprise, an underground passage was discovered leading to his meditation chamber. The excavation then descended into a water table making it impossible to dig any further.

The attempt to figure out the original purpose of this amazing pond is a challenge for the imagination since there are still so many unanswered questions. There are so many things about the pond that we still don’t know.

Moreover, the pond certainly serves as an important source of water for people of Patan for centuries and was even used to put out fires in ancient times.