In front of what once was the Vatsala Durga Temple is a large bell, which was erected by King Jaya Ranjit Malla in 1737 to mark morning and evening prayers at the Taleju Temple.
A smaller bell on the plinth of the Vatsala Durga Temple was known as the ‘barking bell’. According to legend, it was erected by King Bhupatindra Malla in 1721 to counteract a vision he had in a dream, and dogs were said to bark and whine when the bell was rung. Unfortunately it was damaged when the temple collapsed in 2015 and it now sits forlornly in a corner of the entrance to Mul Chowk.
Behind the bell pavilion is an ornate sunken hiti containing a fine stone dhara in the form of a makara, topped by a crocodile and a frog – the only part of the famous Vatsala Durga Temple to survive the 2015 earthquake.
