Nepal: Rato Machhendranath Temple, Bungamati

Machhendranath is a Hindu deity, the protector of the Kathmandu Valley and the master over rain and prosperity. The Rato Machhendranath Temple is one of the more sacred sites in Bungamati, and is dedicated to a deity of many personalities and names, Padmapani Avalokiteshvara. Buddhists worship him under the name of Rato Machhendranath or Bungadyo (The One from Bungamati), and Hindus regard him as another manifestation of their multi-facetted god Shiva. However Buddhists and Hindus alike consider Rato Machhendranath to be the god of rain and plenty, after an incident when he is said to have intervened to end a 12 year drought by making his guru Gorakthnath rise up from squatting on a seat of naga, or serpent deities. When Gorakhnath rose from the naga, who are often associated with water, they proceeded to bring rain over the country.