Nepal: Krishna Temple, Durbar Square, Patan, Kathmandu Valley (1996)

The octagonal Krishna Temple was built by King Yoganarendra Malla’s daughter Yogamati after the death of her son in 1723. Shaken by the repeated intrusion of death in her life, Yogamati hoped in constructing the temple to secure spiritual merit for herself, for the time when her own end would arrive. The temple is designed in typical Indian Moghul style, one of only a few such buildings in Nepal. Patan’s Durbar Square is the best preserved of the three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley, the one least changed from its original form. On the square itself, which measures about 160 by 70 metres at its widest, there are some 30 monuments, including the extensive old palace complex, and another 30 can be found in the immediate vicinity. In addition, all around, craftsmen conduct their business in ways little changed in centuries.