Despite the Pashupati Mandir's religious importance, it's something of a sideshow, as the real draw for pilgrims is the Bagmati River. There are dozens of temple complexes and other religious buildings lining both banks of the river and stacked up the hills overlooking the river. The overwhelming focus of the whole area is death. Couples come here to bathe in the (filthy) river, as that is supposed to guarantee that they will be remarried in the next life. But most of the rest of the crowd is either dying or attending a cremation, as dying at this particular stretch of the river is supposed to release you from the cycle of rebirth, which equates crudely to the Christian idea of heaven.