Dakshinkali


Dakshinkali is a municipality in Kathmandu District in the Province No. 3 of Nepal that was established on 2 December 2014 by merging the former Village [development committee (Nepal)|Village development committees] Chalnakhel, Chhaimale, Sheshnarayan, Sokhel, Talku Dudechaur and Old-Dakshinkali. The municipality's name means 'Southern Kali' and refers to a several centuries old temple complex that lies in the vicinity.

Toponymy

Language origin

  • Language family: Indoeuropean
  • Language: Sanskrit

    Etymology

“Dakshin” means south or the southern direction. “Kali” refers to the Hindu goddess Kali. Therefore, Dakshinkali is interpreted as “the temple/place of the goddess Kali in the south.”
Dakshin means “south, southern” and comes from Sanskrit दक्षिण meaning “south” or “right-hand side.” Kali is an Hindu goddess, from Sanskrit काली meaning “the black one, the dark goddess,” feminine of काल meaning time, blackness, death. The toponym Dakshinkali is a compound Sanskrit name indicating a sacred site dedicated to the goddess Kali, located in the southern direction of the valley.

Population

Dakshinkali municipality has a total population of 24,297 according to 2011 [Nepal census]. The population grew to 26,372 at the 2021 Nepal census. Around 99.3% of the residents are Nepali citizens and 80% are literate.