This portico, which formed the entrance to the Nepalese pavilion at World Expo 88, was donated to Griffith University by the Pavilion Commissioner-General Mr. Gauri N. Rimal on behalf of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal.

The portico was officially opened by Dr Linda D. Griffith Honorary Royal Nepalese Consul-General on Sunday 5 August 1990.

This portico is in the style of a Nepalese Hindu temple doorway, with depictions of Hindu deities and certain Tantric symbols. In the six main panels are depicted from left to right: Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of good beginnings; Kartikeya, god of war; Laksmi, goddess of good fortune and wealth; Sarasvati, goddess of music; Shiva, the god of destruction and the prototypic yogi and meditator; and Parvati, his female consort who also symbolises Sakti, power.

Below each of the two central goddesses is Garuda, the serpent-devouring bird-man on which the god Vishnu rides, and below each of the remaining deities is the double vajra or thunderbolt, a symbol of enlightenment. Above, within the central arch, is a small-scale representation of the Hindu Trinity: Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. This is topped by the chipa, a mythological creature and enemy of all snakes.

At the upper left and right appear the eight auspicious Tibetan symbols. The struts that support the top section are carved with dragons and deities, and across the top is a row of Tibetan singing bells. The horizontal bronze plaque at the bottom depicts a yantra, symbolising in its two interlacing triangles, the Tantric concept of balance or union of opposites.