The Toothache Tree: a unique coin-covered shrine in Kathmandu

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1 year ago Robin

Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, as well as the historical and traditional city scattered with various temples and deities at its every nook and corner, is also home to a peculiar shrine or, more simply, a gnarled hunk of wood known as Vaisha Dev, or the Toothache Tree.

Located on a narrow street in the city, between Thamel and Kathmandu Durbar Square, at an unassuming chowk (intersection) just past Thahiti Tole, is undoubtedly one of the most unusual tourist attractions, but visitors could be forgiven for not realizing that it is a tree stump since locals making an offering to the god of sore teeth have covered it in nailed on coins!
It seems the peculiar shrine is a stump cut from the mythical tree known as Bangemudha, but in fact it’s almost impossible to tell that it is a tree at all, as it is completely covered in Nepalese rupee coins nailed onto it.
Although it is impossible to know just how old this unique shrine really is, there are several sources claiming that it dates back to the Lichchhavi kingdom that existed in the Kathmandu Valley from approximately 400 to 750 CE but, even though modern dentistry has been practiced in Kathmandu for decades, people still come to the Toothache Tree to nail coins, hoping the goddess will release them of their dental problems.
People with toothaches or other dental ailments visit the site and nail coin to the tree as an offering to Vaishya Dev, the Newar goddes of the toothache.
The Local people worship the goddess also by offering a ‘kislin’ comprising of a clay bowl containing rice grains, betel nut and coin to the deity.
According to the legend, there is a tiny gold-carved idol, apparently stolen long ago, deep inside the main hole of this sacred tree stump, but the nailed coins that line the inside of the orifice make it impossible to see inside it.

Over the years, the toothache tree of Kathmandu has attracted both toothache sufferers hoping to be relieved of their pain and dentists looking for business.
Well…prayers are still good, but for people looking for a more hands-on approach, there are dozens of dental clinics around the Vaisha Dev Shrine, so many nowadays that the area around the famous tree stump is now known as the city’s dental district.
However, even though dentistry has come a long way in recent years with the help of technological advancements, people still come to the Toothache Tree to nail on coins whenever they experience dental pain, and not only dentists, but orthodontists also have set up shop in the area, just in case the prayers do not work….