Halesi-Maratika Caves

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Halesi-Maraktika Caves
Haleshi Mahadevstan
The main Halesi-Maratika Cave (Halesi Mahadev Temple)
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism, Buddhism, Kiratism
District	Khotang
Province	Province No. 1
Deity	Mahadev
Location
Location	Halesi Tuwachung Municipality
Country	Nepal
Halesi-Maraktika caves in Nepal
Geographic coordinates	27°11′24″N 86°37′21″E / 27.19006°N 86.622391°E / 27.19006; 86.622391
Architecture
Type	Naturally formed

The Halesi-Maratika Caves (also the Haleshi Mahadev temple) are located next to the village of Mahadevasthan, in the Khotang District of eastern Nepal, 3,100 ft. – 4,734 ft. above sea level. The cave and temple are about 185 km south west of Mount Everest. The temple is a venerated pilgrimage site for Hindus, Buddhists and Kirat.^[1] The caves are called the Halesi Mahadev Temple by Hindus who associate them with Mahadeva, a form of Shiva; while they are known as the sacred place to Buddhists, who consider them to be the caves associated with the legend of Padmasambhava.^[2] The Kirati Rai of the region worship Halesi as an ancestral deity of the community. The Kirat mundhum, a rich oral tradition of the Kirats, manifests that their ancestor Raechhakule (Khokchilipa) also known as Hetchhakuppa used to stay inside the Halesi cave in the remote past. For that reason, the Kirat/Rais consider Halesi as their ancestral place.^[1]