Swayambhunath ɗaya ce daga cikin shahararrun wuraren addinin Buddha a kwarin Kathmandu , yammacin birnin Kathmandu. Swayambhunath, wanda kuma aka sani da Simbhu a yaren yankin, an samo shi ne daga kalmar Singgu, ma'ana 'self-Sprung'. Ana kuma kiransa da Haikalin Birai a tsakanin baƙi. Ga mutanen Newar na gida, shi ne wurin ibada mafi tsarki na Buddha. Ga 'yan Tibet da mabiya addinin Buddha na Tibet, shi ne babban wurin addini na biyu bayan Boudhanath.
Ginin ya ƙunshi wani stupa, wurare daban-daban na ibada, da haikali, wasu kuma tun zamanin Licchavi. Wani gidan ibada na Tibet, gidan tarihi, da ɗakin karatu sun zama sabbin abubuwan da aka ƙara. Stupa ɗin an zana idanun Buddha da gira a kai. Tsakanin su, akwai alama kamar alamar tambaya; ana kiranta Sukhawati (hanyar zuwa sama), wurin yana da wuraren shiga guda biyu: wani dogon matakala da ke kaiwa kai tsaye zuwa babban dandamalin haikalin, wanda yake daga saman tudun zuwa gabas, da kuma hanyar mota da ke kewaye da tudun daga kudu zuwa ƙofar kudu maso yamma. Farkon abin da za a gani idan an isa saman matakalar shine Vajra (sandar tsawa).
Taswirar Swayambhunath ta fito ne daga al'adar Vajrayana ta addinin Buddha na Newar. Duk da haka, ginin kuma muhimmin wuri ne ga mabiya addinin Buddha na makarantu da yawa kuma mabiya Hindu suna girmama shi. A cewar Gopalrajvamsabali, kakan Sarki Manadeva (464-505 CE), Sarki Virsadeva, ne ya kafa shi a farkon karni na 5 AD . Wannan ya tabbata ne ta hanyar wani rubutu na dutse da ya lalace da aka samu a wurin, wanda ke nuna cewa Sarki Virasadeva ya ba da umarnin a yi aiki a shekara ta 640 AD. A cewar Percival Brown, Swayambhu yana da shekaru 2000. A cewar JC Regmi, an gina Swayambhu a lokacin Kirat, a baya ga Lichhavis.
A cewar Swayambhu Purana, dukkan kwarin tafki ne inda maciji (macijin) yake zama inda Bipaswi Buddha ya shuka iri na lotus wanda ya samar da furen lotus. Da yake ya san game da harshen wuta na Jyotirswarup (wutar lu'ulu'u) Manjusiri ya zo daga Mahachin (China) tare da Sarki Dharmakar, matansa biyu, manoma, da sufaye don su bauta masa. Ganin cewa kwarin zai iya zama kyakkyawan wurin zama kuma don ya sa wurin ya fi sauƙin isa ga mahajjata na ɗan adam, sai ya yanke kwarin Chovar. Ruwa ya fito daga tafkin ya yi zama. An mayar da lotus zuwa tudu kuma furen ya zama stupa.
A shekara ta 1349, Samasuddhin Ilyas na masarautar Bengal ya mamaye kwarin Kathmandu kuma ya lalata Swayambhu stupa da sojojin Musulmi suka yi, daga baya Sarki Saktimalle Bhalloka ya gyara shi. A shekara ta 1505, babban malamin addinin kirista Sangye Gyaltsen ya ƙara ƙafafu da gudu zuwa ga kusurwar stupa. A shekara ta 1614, Shamarpa na 6 ya gina wuraren ibada a cikin stupa a cikin manyan hanyoyi guda huɗu. Wasu muhimman Kagyu Lamas sun gudanar da bikin keɓewa a shekara ta 1750 bayan wani babban gyara. Shahararren malamin Bhutanese Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche (1918-2003), marigayi abbas na Bhutanese Drugpa Kagyu Monastery a gefen yamma na stupas, ya zo Nepal don taimaka wa kawunsa, Drukpa Lama Sherab Dorje, wajen gyara da kuma kula da stupa a farkon ƙarni na 20. An kammala gyaran Swayambhu stupa na baya-bayan nan a watan Mayu na 2010.
An san kwarin da Swayambhu, ma'ana wanda ya halicci kansa. Sunan ya fito ne daga harshen wuta mai wanzuwa na har abada (Syambhu) wanda daga baya aka gina stupa. Duk da haka, an ce sarki Ashoka ya ziyarci wurin a karni na uku BC kuma ya gina haikali a kan tudun da aka lalata daga baya amma a tarihi ba a tabbatar da hakan ba.
Duk da cewa ana ɗaukar wurin a matsayin wurin Buddha, amma mabiya addinin Buddha da Hindu suna girmama wurin. Sarakunan Hindu da yawa sun yi wa haikalin girmamawa, ciki har da Pratap Malla, sarkin Kathmandu mai ƙarfi, wanda ke da alhakin gina matattakalar gabas a ƙarni na 17. Pratap Malla ya gina haikalin Pratap Pur da Anantapur a wurin. An gyara stupa gaba ɗaya a watan Mayu na 2010, babban gyaransa na farko tun 1921, kuma na 15 a cikin kusan shekaru 1,500 tun lokacin da aka gina shi. An sake yin zinare a cikin dome ta amfani da kilogiram 20 na zinariya. Cibiyar Nazarin Zuciya ta Tibet ta Nyingma da ke California ce ta ɗauki nauyin gyaran kuma ta fara a watan Yunin 2008.
Da misalin karfe 5 na safe a ranar 14 ga Fabrairu, 2011, haikalin Pratapur da ke yankin Monument na Swayambhu ya samu lalacewa daga wata tsawa da aka yi ta tsawa. Rukunin na Swayambhunath ya samu lalacewa a wata babbar girgizar kasa na Afrilu 2015.
