The importance of water architecture in South Asia has been widely underrated in art-historical writing. Tanks and wells have been seen as primarily utilitarian structures, plain and lacking any artistic value or religious connotations1. Only a few regional art-historical studies aim at shifting this emphasis and at drawing attention to the importance of water-related structures2, Anthropological studies of funerary and bathing rites, mainly at Benares, have drawn attention to the importance of water in Hindu culture and religion3. In the few articles and books at present available on the subject, however, it is Hindu and Islamic water architecture which gains most attention. Neglected almost entirely is the water architecture of the Buddhists. This paper aims to redress this imbalance and to draw attention to the wealth of tanks, fountains, and water sanctuaries of the Buddhists in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, and the importance of water for Buddhist religion and rituals.

  • 1. See for example, the Ph.D. thesis by J.A. Patt and the many monographs and articles on temple sites not even mentioning the related water structures.
  • 2. Examples of regional art-historical studies are by J. Jain-Neubauer, K. Mankodi, D. Davison-Jenkins, and R.O.A. Becker-Ritterspach. Many water structures, particularly ghats, were also included in C. Pruscha's book.
  • 3. Particularly important are the studies of J.P. Parry and P. Amado.