Svayambhunath#
![Ssvayambhunath Ssvayambhunath](/attach/Geography/Asia/Nepal/Pictures/Svayambhunath/Ssvayambhunath/scaled-675x900-116_Ssvayambhunath_Ssvayambhunath.jpg)
Ssvayambhunath, February 2015, © Bernd Mader
According to a legend, the whole valley was once filled with a lake.
Out of the lake there grew a lotus.
Manjushri (a Yidamn - a manifestation of Buddhahood or enlightened mind) saw the lotus in a dream and went to the lake and cut a gorge into Chowar which drained the lake.
The place where the lotus flower settled down became Swayambhunath Stupa and the valley became the valley in which Kathmandu lies nowadays.