Pashupatinath Temple attacked during Nepal GenZ protest? No, viral video shows ceremonial ritual

Amid the recent unrest in Nepal, several unverified images and videos went viral on social media. One of them is a video of several people scaling the gates of the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu. NDTV aired the footage and said, “The mob has reached the temple. If the youth demonstrators are ransacking the temple, then this is rowdyism…”

Social media users also shared the viral video with the same claim. Right-wing X influencer Jitendra Pratap Sigh (@jpsin1) wrote, “Protesting against the government is understandable, but trying to break the temple’s doors? Where is the real anger? And why the attack on the temple?” (Archive)

गुस्सा अगर सरकार से है, तो निशाना पशुपतिनाथ मंदिर क्यों?
ये मंदिर सिर्फ ईंट-पत्थर नहीं, बल्कि पूरे हिंदू समाज की आस्था और पहचान का प्रतीक है।

सरकार के खिलाफ विरोध समझ आता है,
लेकिन मंदिर के दरवाज़े तोड़ने की कोशिश?

असली गुस्सा कहाँ है? और चोट मंदिर पर क्यों?#NepalRiots… pic.twitter.com/2kCE7oLezz

— 🇮🇳Jitendra pratap singh🇮🇳 (@jpsin1) September 9, 2025

Readers should note that this user, whose X DP has Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo, shares disinformation and communal propaganda on a regular basis.

Several users amplified the viral video with the same claim. Among them was Rahul Jha who identifies himself as “national co-incharge IT/social media BJP Kisan Morcha”.

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Fact Check

Upon a reverse image search of a keyframe of the viral video, we were led to a TikTok video uploaded by user @hamrojatra.com on July 14. The caption said, “Who knows about this procession at Pashupatinath Temple? Which procession and when is it held? Why is it climbing the gate?” It must be noted that the GenZ protest in Nepal took off on September 8.

Below is a comparison between a keyframe from the viral video and a keyframe from the aforementioned TikTok video. A close look at the attire of the men trying to scale the temple gate shows the two clips are from the same incident.

Clips from the same event had been uploaded in March last year.

Alt News also accessed a similar video from 2023 on TikTok. The video had been shot during the Naxal Bhagwati Yatra.

@bi_bas #fyp #jatra #pashupatinath #naxalbhagwatijatra #goviral #newar_culture ♬ Jatra – Lakhey

अहिले रातीको पशुपतिनाथको अवस्था । पशुपति शान्त छ । सेनाले सुरक्षा दिइरहेको छ । हामीहरू निरन्तर हेरिरहेका छौँ । चिन्ता नगर्नुहोस् । पशुपतिलाई कसैले छुन सक्दैन । pic.twitter.com/6SGVzvq38m

— डा. स्वामी केशवानन्द ( Dr. KN Swami ) (@swami_kn) September 9, 2025

Hence, a video showing a ritual during the Naxal Bhagwati Jatra has been falsely shown as young protestors attacking the Pashupatinath Temple after the September 8 demonstrations.