Machhegaun
Encyclopedia
Machhegaunis a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in Kathmandu District
Kathmandu District
Kathmandu District is a district located in Kathmandu Valley, Bagmati Zone of Nepal, a landlocked country in South Asia. It is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, covers an area of 395 km2 and is the most densely populated district of Nepal with a population of 1,081,845 in 2001...

 in the Bagmati Zone
Bagmati Zone
Bagmati Zone Bagmati is divided into eight districts:- See also :*Zones of Nepal*Regions of Nepal*Districts of Nepal...

 of central Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census
1991 Nepal census
The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics.Working with Nepal's Village Development Committees at a district level,...

 it had a population of 2871 .

History

Its name came from Machhenarayan, an avatar of god Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

. It is said that during ancient time, Manu found a small fish about to die while he was having a bath in a river. He brought the fish to his home and put it into a small pot of water. Next day, the fish grew in its size amazingly and was no longer fit in the small pot. So he put the fish in a pond just to find next day that the fish had grown larger and no longer fit in the pond as well. Knowing that this fish is no ordinary fish, Manu bowed with respect and asked to show the fish who he was. Then god Vishnu emerged from the mouth of the fish. To remember this event, Manu established Machhenarayan temple in the center of the pond.

A mela
Mela
Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a Fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gathering and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sports. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were of great importance...

 (fair), named MangalMas, is organized every three years in Machhegaun for a month, mostly during a month from April to July. During this month god Vishnu is worshiped all over the country.

Location

The village is located west of Kirtipur
Kirtipur
Kirtipur is an ancient city in Nepal. It is located in Kathmandu District of Bagmati Zone 5 km south-west of the Kathmandu. It is one of the five municipalities of the Kathmandu Valley.-Etymology:...

.
It is around 7–8 km far from the center of Kathmandu city.
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