By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 21: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has performed a puja at the Kumbheshwar Mahadev Temple in Lalitpur to mark the completion of its reconstruction.
The Prime Minister, along with his wife Arzu Rana Deuba, performed a puja of the temple’s pinnacle at the auspicious time of 11 am on Friday to ceremonially signal the completion of the temple’s renovation. He also unveiled an inscription marking the same.

In addition to the puja, PM Deuba also consumed the prasad offered by the temple’s priest Madhav Shyam Sharma and prayed at the other shrines located on the premises. Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City Chiri Babu Maharjan was also present on the occasion. The top three storeys of the five-storeyed temple located in Lalitpur Metropolitan City–11 had been damaged by the April 25 and May 12 earthquakes of 2015. Two years later, it was Deuba who, as the then Prime Minister, formally began the reconstruction of the temple by performing forgiveness worship (Kshama Puja) on May 13, 2017.
The reconstruction, which was carried out by Dharma S/Tulsi/Drama JV, took four years and cost Rs. 28.2 million.

The temple of Kumbheshwar Mahadev, also known as Sarbeshwar, was constructed in 1392 and is believed to be the oldest temple of Patan. It was originally two-storey tall with the upper three storeys being added by King Srinivasa Malla in the 17th century.