The Galeshwor Temple, a significant religious site in Myagdi located in Beni Municipality-9, has accumulated over NPR 5.8 million in offerings over the past fiscal year. According to the Galeshwor Shivala Area Development Fund, devotees visiting the temple for worship and blessings in the fiscal year 2080/81 contributed a total of NPR 5,840,510.
Madhav Prasad Regmi, the chairman of the fund, reported that NPR 1,978,818 was collected during festivals and NPR 3,861,692 from the Mandap. “Until the end of the last fiscal year, the fund’s income, including offerings, donations, and bank interest, reached NPR 44,125,222,” he stated. “The temple’s income is utilized for the salaries of employees, priests, and kitchen staff at the senior citizens’ home, as well as for the operation of the cultural school.”
During the last fiscal year, the fund generated a total income of NPR 17,640,884, with expenditures amounting to NPR 8,035,911 across various categories, resulting in savings of NPR 9,604,972, according to office secretary Ram Bahadur Baniya. Besides offerings, the fund earned NPR 413,667 from Yagya registration fees, NPR 577,665 from traveler residence fees, NPR 8,969,566 from interest, NPR 5,522,143 from donations, and NPR 628,825 from the sale of goods offered by devotees. Additionally, NPR 11,750 was collected from parking fees and NPR 676,685 from stall rentals.
In the current year’s month of Shrawan, a total of NPR 1,074,747 has been collected in offerings by the third Monday. Member Secretary Bal Bahadur Khatri reported that NPR 372,371 was collected on the first Monday, NPR 336,185 on the second Monday, and NPR 366,200 on the third Monday. Galeshwor has a tradition of counting and publicly announcing offerings the day after festivals and every month during other times. Over the last 12 years, approximately NPR 110 million has been invested in various physical infrastructure developments from offerings, donations, and funds collected from Yagyas, according to the fund’s vice-chairman, Bam Bahadur Pun.
Significant developments funded by the temple’s income include a guest house, a conference hall, gardens, a Yagyashala, a school, priest residences, a dining hall, a pathway to the Kali Gandaki river, installations of 108 Shiva Lingams, and statues of Jadbharat, Nataraj, and Laxmi Narayan. Last fiscal year, the fund allocated NPR 1.5 million for the construction of a senior citizens’ hall, NPR 500,000 for the Jadbharat Shaligram Sanskrit High School, and NPR 143,000 for the installation of CCTV cameras in the Galeshwor market.
Spread over nine ropanis of land on a rocky cliff along the banks of the Kali Gandaki river, the Galeshwor Shivala area serves as a common pilgrimage site for Hindu and Buddhist devotees and is considered the gateway to Muktinath. According to Hindu scriptures, the temple is named Galeshwor after Goddess Sati’s throat fell at this location. Special fairs are held on Mondays in the month of Shrawan, Balachaturdashi, and Shivaratri, while daily worship continues throughout the year. There is a religious belief that worshipping and offering prayers at Galeshwor can fulfill one’s desires.
