Madhyapur Thimi, also known as Thimi, () is a municipality in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. Thimi lies between Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley. It is one of the ancient cultural and historical places along the trade route from Bhaktapur to Kathmandu. The city is situated on elevated land and occupies an area of , divided into nine administrative wards.
The mayor was Surendra Shrestha of the Nepali Congress.
Archaeology
There are indications that the city may be as old as 3000 BC. A recent work by Mohan Pant and Shuji Funo compared the very regular grid layout of Thimi to other ancient cities in the Indus valley and Nepal. The details of the grid dimensions of city blocks are very close to those of Mohenjo-daro and Sirkap (part of ruins near Taxila) in Pakistan; also Patan, Nepal. The authors found that plot dimensions measure by , and are very uniform. These dimensions correspond to Indus Valley civilization.
Etymology
Madhypur Thimi is situated in the center of the valley between Patan, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. Because of its position it served as a bulwark between Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu during the late malla period when there were often battles among the three kingdoms of the valley. Several legends surround the name "Thimi" and its meaning. Legend says that because the people of Thimi so successfully defended Bhaktapur, the kings of Bhaktapur called them "Chhemi", meaning "capable people", thus praising them for their loyal constant support. Gradually the name of the settlement became "Thimi". "Madhya" means centre and "pur" means city; therefore Madhyapur means city located in the centre. The oldest known name of the city is "Themmring".
Demographics
Madhyapur Thimi is an ancient Newari town and is a centre of Newar culture. In Chaitra 18 2053 B.S the Government of Nepal merged it with five different VDCs to form Madhyapur Thimi municipality.
History
According to legends Lichchavi king Narendra Dev kept his youngest son Bal Dev in the palace of Madhyapur Thimi (Thimi Durbar or Layaku). Now it has been established as a government school and still today also the palace is considered to be the main place of goddess Balkumari.
Places of interest
Balkumari Temple
The people of Kathmandu valley have been worshiping four Ganesh, four Kali, four Kumari, four Varahi, four Mahalaxmi and four Ganga. Among the four Kumaris, one is Balkumari of Thimi. The temple of Balkumari is said to be about three hundred years old. Goddess Balkumari is regarded as the guardian deity of Thimi and she is the beloved goddess of Thimi. Ceremonial rituals in relation to important events of life including marriage, bratabanda etc. cannot be done without propitiating this deity.
The present three storeyed temple of goddess Balkumari was built probably around the 17th century. This temple stands in the brick-paved rectangular courtyard with rest houses around it. There is a temple of lord Bhairab and some small shrines of different gods and goddess spread around the courtyard.
The legends regarding the temple of goddess Balkumari say that the merchants from ancient Thimi used to go to Lubhu for trading. One of them established a relationship with the princess of Lubhu. Soon the princess became pregnant. The princess asked the merchant to take her with him. The clever merchant put forward a condition that he would take her with him only if she agrees to bring goddess Balkumari with her to which the princess happily agreed. Since ancient times there were only four Balkumari temples in the Kathmandu Valley. Therefore, when the pregnant princess was brought to Thimi, goddess Balkumari was also permanently shifted from Lubhu to Thimi since there could not be more than four major Balkumari temples in the valley. Till now as well to commemorate that a pregnant princess brought the deity, there is a womb like structure just above the idol of the deity inside the ancient temple.
Since goddess Balkumari is the primary deity of Thimi, during the annual Biska Jatra, her chariot is not taken to whole Thimi. Her chariot is taken only to the temple of Prachanda Bhairab. It is because, it is believed that the ancient city of Thimi was extended from Balkumari temple in the south and Pranchanda Bhairab temple in the north.