Lāykū Phalcā, Bhaktapur

Lāykū Phalcā, Bhaktapur
LĀYKŪ PHALCĀ, VIEW FROM NW, PHOTO BY BIJAY BASUKALA, OCTOBER 2021

Lāykū Phalcā (lit. the phalcā at the palace) is a two-storeyed long 'L' shaped Phalcā occupying a large space right in front of Phasi Degaḥ (BKT0012) at the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. It has twenty-seven bays facing north and thirteen bays facing west, as well as three more bays each on three other sides, making it a forty-nine--bay Phalcā altogether. It is probably one of the longest arcaded platforms in Nepal. On its first floor, Lāykū Phalcā also displays immaculate woodcarvings on pillars, capitals, beams, cornices, and doors. Wooden statues of various tantric deities like the ten Mahāvidyās are placed at the centre of each capital (metha). The capitals contain carvings and images on the inner side as well. Furthermore, wooden images are installed on the beam (nināḥ) covering each bay. The central bay of the twenty-seven bays facing north is allocated for the sanctum that houses a śivaliṅga as the main deity. There used to be a two-storey high wooden tower (pula) on top of the sanctum according to photos taken before the Great Earthquake in 1934. The tower (pula) placed above the sanctum was not reconstructed after the Phalcā's collapse in that earthquake. The thirteen-bayed section facing west also contains a sanctum at the centre, accessible through an artistic door. A statue of Bhagavatī is enshrined in this sanctum. A second tower with a golden finial raises on top of this sanctum. A triśūla accompanies the finial.

An inscription on the wall of the Phalcā dated 1683 CE, records its construction. King Jitāmitra Malla’s sons Ugra Malla and Bhupatindra Malla along with Minister Duḥkhi Bhāgirāma initiated the construction. Impressed by the construction of the Phalcā and the shrines in it, the king had enforced a new system regarding irrigation canals to facilitate the farmers of Bhaktapur. In a painting by Henry Ambrose Oldfield from 1854 CE a few bays and the wooden tower (pula) on the eastern section of this phalcā can be seen. A portion of the twenty-seven-bayed section of the phalcā collapsed in the 2015 earthquakes. It was reconstructed by the Department of Archaeology in 2020 CE.

No guthi related to the Phalcā is (still) in existence. The daily worship at the shrines of Bhagavatī and śivaliṅga has also been discontinued. The upper floor of the thirteen-bay section of Lāykū Phalcā accommodates the office of the Department of Archaeology. Souvenir shops operated from the twenty-seven--bay section of the Lāykū Phalcā for decades in the past. They were removed from the Phalcā in the 1990s, stating the shops disturbed the ambiance of the palace square (local knowledge, local resident, Śarmā, male, age 69).

For more information about Lāykū Phalcā, please visit the DANAM.