Bhaktapur, literally meaning "The Town of Devotees," is believed to have existed from the early ninth century AD. The town area covers four square miles and divided into twenty-four toles, sections. Bhaktapur was the capital of the Katmandu Valley from the twelfth century to the fourteenth century and then an independent kingdom until 1769, when the Shahs invaded. The Durbar Square is the central setting of Bhaktapur for architectural monuments and the arts. The Durbar Square is believed to have been established no earlier that the mid-twelfth century when Ananda Malla built Tripura, the name for the palace that was used until the sixteenth century. It is asserted in different archives that this Bhaktapur Palace was the most costly and largest of all the palaces in the country. It had ninety-nine courtyards and spread from the gateway to the Durbar Square in the West and to Sukul Dhoka in the East. The Mul Chowk, the main courtyard inside the palace, is dedicated to the mother goddess, Taleju, the clan deity of the Malla Kings. Most probably the Taleju Temple, adjoining the Mul Chowk at its south end, is the oldest standing monument of the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. However, there is no documented inscription directly mentioning the existence of the Mul Chowk until the seventeenth century. Yakseswar Mahadev, a temple built as a duplicate of Pashupati is another of the oldest monuments in the Durbar Square. This temple situated at the South end of the Durbar Square is believed to have been erected by Yaksha Malla (ruled 1428-1482).
There are significant records of the donors, constructions, and renovations of the complexes inside the Durbar Square since 1614. According to the archives, the last three kings of Bhaktpaur, Jitamitra Malla, Bhupatindra Malla, and Ranajit Malla, played the chief roles in shaping the present Durbar Square. During his twenty-three years as king starting in 1673, Jitamitra, influenced by the arts, made many extensive changes to the Durbar Square. He renovated Eta (Kumari) Chowk, a chowk adjoining Mul Chowk, and decorated the walls with carved windows and paintings of yoginis and scenes from the Ramayana, the god versus hero epic drama in which Taleju plays a large part. A year later, he added another palace wing, the Thanbu Durbar, northeast of the Mul Chowk. He designed fountains, gardens, and a pavilion for the new wing. In 1696, shortly before his demise, he built a sikhara temple of Siddhilaxmi next to the temple of Vatsaladevi. A rare feature added to the temple was the animal sculptures standing on either side of the steps to the temple.
After his death, his son, Bhupatindra Malla, continued to make additions to the Durbar Square. He reconstructed the Malati Chowk; the Fifty-Five Window Palace that was another wing built in his time. This palace has fifty-five wooden windows on its upper floor. The gate made of bricks and plaster, which is presently the main entrance to the Durbar Square, was also built by him. These gates were actually the entrance to the Basantapur Palace, of which nothing remains except the lions guarding the then gate and images of Ugrachandi and Bhairava. Both of the latter sculptures are dated 1707. Legend says that Bhupatindra Malla was so impressed by these two sculptures that he cut off both the hands of the sculptor, fearing that other kingdoms may exploit the man to sculpt other beautiful carvings outside of Bhaktapur. Bhupatindra Malla also built four modest monuments: the temples of Jagannatha and Rameswar, a sikhara style brick temple Kedarnath, and a two-storied pagoda style temple of Badrinath near the gate of the Durbar Square. Collectively, they are the char dhaam, four holy sites for Hindu pilgrims, though they are substitutes for the real char dhaam found in today's India. The most significant donation of Bhupatindra Malla in the architectural field is the two temples at Taumadhi Tole, an extension of the Durbar Square. Others were built under his rule as well. The three storied rectangular temple of Bhairava, the wrathful form of Lord Shiva, was enlarged from its single story, when reconstructed in 1717. There are seven golden gajurs, spires on its topmost roof. Next to it is Nyatapola, the five storied temple, made in 1702, is unique. It has five slanting roofs supported by one hundred eight struts and standing on five plinths. The steep flight of steps rising to the entrance of the temple is flanked on either side by sculptures of wrestlers, elephants, lions, griffins, and sculptures of the deities Simhini and Vyangini. These guardians are arranged in order of their powers; the one above is said to have ten times more strength that the one below. So the goddess Siddhi Laxmi, to whom the temple is believed to been dedicated, has ten times more power than the two deities on the topmost level of the stairs. Maybe it was this power that aided the 100 feet high temple to stand through the devastating earthquake in 1934. Only the topmost roof of the temple was destroyed.
After Bhupatindra's death in 1722, his successor Ranajit Malla ruled the kingdom for forty-seven years. Ranajit also showed great interest in the arts and donated for the promotion of the Durbar Square. He replaced the bell offered by his grandfather to Taleju with a larger one. This bell and the copper drums, Jitamitra had donated to the Taleju Temple, were sounded twice daily in worship to the goddess. West of the big bell is a stone pillar standing on a lotus pedestal. At the top of the pillar is a golden statue of Bhupatindra Malla under the shade of Chudamani, a golden umbrella, in a praying position and facing the Taleju Temple. The golden gate at the entrance to the main palace and also to the Taleju Temple, Ranajit Malla's greatest offers to the goddess Taleju came in 1753. The gate is decorated with the images of Kalash and other deities at both sides and a detailed sculpture of Taleju, above the gate looking at those entering the gate. The flags, spires, umbrellas, elephants, and lions at the roof of the gate also add to its notability. About this time he also added the chikka appa, bricks immersed in oil for strength and shine, to the passage leading to Mul Chowk.
It took more than three generations of kings to build the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Most was damaged and destroyed during the earthquake of 1934. Almost all the palaces and temples in the Valley went through extensive renovation immediately following the earthquake. However, the massive restoration left the place deprived of its seventeenth century antiquity. As seen today, only half a dozen courtyards remain around the Mul Chowk. Nonetheless, this chowk is only open to Hindus and Buddhists. Malati Chowk was again renovated in the nineteenth century and does not feature much of traditional Malla arts anymore. Fortunately, only the upper floors of the Fifty-Five Window Palace were destroyed in 1934. Its lower floors along with the successive murals of Lord Krishna in scrolls like manner remained intact. These paintings are now on public display. The West wing of the palace towards the entrance to the Durbar Square, known as the Chowkot Palace constructed in the early sixteenth century by Jaga Jyoti Malla, has been transformed into a national arts gallery. An eight sided pavilion of Chasalin Mandap, stands in front of the Fifty-Five Window Palace. It was originally made by Yaksha Malla in remembrance of his queen, but has been recently reconstructed after its destruction the earthquake. With windows that open in all directions, the Chasalin Mandap, offers a prime view of the Durbar Square.
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