Dharma Man Tuladhar

Dharma Man Tuladhar (Devanagari: धर्म मान तुलाधर) (August 4, 1862 – August 24, 1938) was a Nepalese trader and philanthropist best known for the renovation of the Swayambhu stupa in Kathmandu, one of the holiest Buddhist shrines in Nepal.

Popularly known as Dhaman Sahu (Newar: धमां साहु), Tuladhar headed the restoration project which lasted from 1918 to 1921. This was the last complete renovation of Swayambhu before the recent restoration project which was finished in 2010.

Tuladhar belonged to the Nyata (Newar: न्यत) branch of Tuladhars. He was born in Nyata in the western part of Kathmandu and moved to Tanlachhi (Newar: तंलाछि) in the early 1900s. His wife was Hera Laxmi Tuladhar. His father Buddha Bir Singh Tuladhar owned a business house in Lhasa, Tibet known as Chhusingsyar with branches in Gyantse and Phari and in Ladakh and Kolkata in India. Tuladhar traveled to Lhasa and lived there many years engaged as a trader.

Following his return to Kathmandu in 1898, he devoted himself to supporting Buddhist causes. He also hosted Tibetan lamas coming to Kathmandu on pilgrimage and made arrangements for them to give religious discourses, most notably Kyangtse Lama who arrived in Kathmandu in 1924.

A Tibetan lama Sarvasri Sakyasri provided the inspiration to undertake the restoration of Swayambhu which Tuladhar began in 1918 after obtaining permission from the king and the prime minister. Tuladhar was one of the major donors to the project. Lamas and devotees from Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim also made large contributions.

The entire stupa was refurbished. The spire was dismantled and redone. The central shaft was renewed. Tuladhar sponsored the renovation of the upper portion of the stupa while brothers Harsha Sundar, Ram Sundar and Pushpa Sundar Tuladhar of Asan Dhalasikwa, Kathmandu bore the expenses of the nine shrines around its base.

...
Wikipedia