Dammar Budhamagar/RSS

DHORPATAN: The Shalagram Museum located in Kundule, Baglung Municipality-4 has seen an increase in both domestic and international visitors.

The visitors have increased because one can see over one hundred thousand Shalagram (ammonite stones) at once inside the man-made tunnel. The Shalagram stones have been preserved inside a 100-metre tunnel.

Tourists, especially those coming to visit Mustang, have been coming here.

Recently, 300 tourists, on average, have been visiting the museum daily. Rishi Swami Prapannacharya, the patron of the museum, said that more than a thousand tourists visit the museum on public holidays.

He said that in the past four months alone more than 25 thousand tourists have visited the museum.

Prapannacharya stated that nearly two hundred thousand tourists came here last year.

The museum was opened to the public five years ago. Located inside a tunnel in the shape of a trident, the museum has map from Trivenidham to Damodarkunda and the images of various monasteries and temples built.

The museum has Shalagrams weighing up to 300 kilogrammes.

Rishi Prapannacharya said, “The attraction of Indian tourists along with Nepalese has increased. Initially, not many tourists arrived, but lately the number of visitors has been increasing. Currently, over a thousand tourists come here during public holidays, and during other times, two to three hundred visitors visit the museum.”

Alina Khanal, who came from West Nawalparasi to observe the museum, said that the museum has religious significance. She had come here while returning home after visiting Muktinath.

“I did not know that such big museum was here. I am very happy to be able to observe so many Shalagrams here. Shalagrams are no longer found in the Kali Gandaki river bank these days, but it was surprising to see them collected and kept here. It is necessary to preserve them,” Khanal said.

Tikaram Pathak, who came from Chitwan to visit the Shalagram Museum, said he came here for a family trip. He said that he was attracted by the figure in the museum showing the map from Damodarkunda, the source of the Kaligandaki River, to Trivenidham.

Many religious structures including the Shreerang Venkatesh Muktinarayan Temple have been constructed in the Shalagram Museum area.

A Shalagram stone is a fossilized ammonite, a black or dark grey stone found in the Kali Gandaki River in Nepal, which is considered a sacred, non-anthropomorphic representation of the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu. Worshipped for blessings of protection, prosperity, and spiritual growth, these stones have natural markings that symbolize different forms of Vishnu. The stones are highly revered and hold significant religious importance due to their origin in a sacred river and connection to holy sites like Muktinath.