Pashupatinath
पशुपतिनाथ
Nepal's national Shiv temple
Pashupatinath is a Shiv temple on the Bagmati river in Kathmandu, Nepal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. It is not one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, though some sources treat it as adjacent to them.
In the Purana we have
The Koti Rudra Samhita, in its catalogue of lingams of the northern direction, lists the Nepal region's own Pashupati and Muktinatha. A separate tradition, reported from the Shiva Purana, has Shiva reappear as a bull after the Pandavas' penance, with his head at Pashupatinath and other parts at places such as Kedarnath. We have not confirmed that telling in the chapters on this site.
Other texts and dating
The deity's fame as Pashupati is attributed to the Nepala Mahatmya and the Himavatkhanda of the Skanda Purana. The temple's existence is recorded from about 400 CE, with a reconstruction around 1099 to 1126 CE and a renovation in 1692. Some claims of a pre-Vedic origin rest on non-academic sources, so the early chronology is not firmly established.
Not claimed here
This page does not state the temple's entry rules for non-Hindus, because the source read did not cover them. Check current rules before travelling.
Read the source chapters
Source note
Built from one encyclopedic overview plus our own Koti Rudra Samhita chapter. The Purana link is real; the bull legend is as reported by the overview.