Lalitpattan

Long ago, in the dense forest of Lalitaranya, an exceedingly ugly grass-cutter used to go daily to cut grass. One day, planting in the ground the pole of his carrying basket (the wooden stick of his kharpana), he set off in search of water to quench his thirst.

In the middle of the forest he found a divine pond (Gaurikund) filled with lovely water. When, having quenched his thirst, he entered that pond to bathe, the supernatural touch of its water removed all his ugliness and he became an exceedingly radiant and handsome man.

When he tried to pull out the pole he had planted in the ground, it had become fixed in the earth and turned into the stone of Kameshwar Mahadev. When he reached the palace carrying his load of grass, King Birdev, seeing his unexpected beauty, questioned him. The grass-cutter told him the whole secret of the pond.

That very night the king received a divine command from Sarveshwar Mahadev in a dream: "Build a splendid city around that sacred Gaurikund and name it Lalitpattan."

King Birdev, under the leadership of that handsome grass-cutter 'Lalit', had the forest cleared and had a splendid city, ponds, water spouts, monasteries and temples built. Later that beautiful city became famous throughout the world by the name 'Lalitpattan' or 'Lalitpur' (Patan).