Barahachhetra Temple

Barahachhetra (Varahakshetra), on the banks of the Sapta Koshi in Sunsari district, is one of the most sacred Vishnu pilgrimage sites in Nepal, dedicated to the Varaha (boar) avatar who, in myth, rescued the earth from the cosmic ocean. It is reckoned among the four great 'Chhetra' pilgrimage zones of the country.

Worship here is very old, referenced in Hindu scripture and sustained over centuries on the Koshi riverbank. The temples have been rebuilt after floods and earthquakes; the site has long attracted pilgrims performing rites for ancestors at the river confluence.

Barahachhetra is a major centre of Vishnu devotion and ancestral (shraddha) rites in eastern Nepal, busiest during Kartik Purnima and Maghe Sankranti when large fairs gather on the riverbank.

The main temple is a white domed (shikhara-style) shrine to Varaha within a riverside precinct of subsidiary temples, rest-houses and bathing ghats on the Koshi, set against the forested Chure foothills.

Current condition: Active pilgrimage site

Maintained by a temple committee; river flooding and bank erosion are recurring concerns at the confluence.