The first square from Durbar Square is Taumadhi Tol, which houses two very different pagodas, the squat Bhairabnath Mandir and the slender Nyatapola, the tallest pagoda in Nepal. Nyatapola was built in 1702 to worship the very minor Hindu goddess. Unfortunately she was so important that she no longer has any worshippers, so it's no longer visited by anyone. The huge stone sculptures guarding the shrine's entrance are as much an attraction as the pagoda itself. The short temple houses a tiny image of another god, Bhairab. Each new year, the two halves of the city engage in a huge tug of war in which the idol is placed on an enormous chariot (you can see some of the wheels in the picture below Sunny Restaurant). They then spend three days trying to tug the chariot into their part of town. In an odd twist, Bhairab is said to have visited the festival once, traveling in disguise. The priests detected his holy aura and decided they wanted to keep him as a source of good luck. He tried to run away but the priests pinned him down and chopped off his head, so at least the head stayed in the city. Not sure how to turn priests chopping a god's head off into an instructive religious moral...