Memory, Memento, and Sacred Bond

According to the inscription along the base of this image of a stupa, it was created in 1776 for the bhimarata (chariot ritual) held to celebrate the seventy-seventh year, seventh month, seventh day, seventh hour, and seventh minute of the life of an elder of Kathmandu. Newar Buddhists commission stupas in commemoration of this day. The imagery in this example includes the chariot and charioteers, who offer prayers to the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, seated before the stupa. The stupa represented is Svayambu, a major pilgrimage site in the Kathmandu Valley and the centerpoint of the bhimarata ritual.