Hidimba Devi Temple, Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Hidimba Devi Temple, Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Hidimba Devi Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Hidimbi Devi, wife of Bhima, a figure in the Indian epic Mahabharata, is located in Manali, a hill station in the State of Himachal Pradesh, India. Hidimba Devi Temple is locally known as Dhungari Temple. It is also known as Hadimba Temple.

Legends

The temple is built around a cave where Devi Hidimba performed meditation. Hidimbi was supposed to have lived there with her brother Hidimba, and not much is known about their parents. Born into a Rakshasa family, Hidimba vowed to marry one who would defeat her brother Hidimba, who was supposed to be very brave and fearless. During the Pandava's exile, when they visited Manali; Bhima, one of the five Pandavas, killed Hidimba.

Thereafter, Hidimba married Bhima and gave birth to their son Ghatotkacha (who later proved to be a great warrior in the war against Kauravas). When Bhima and his brothers returned from exile, Hidimbi did not accompany him, but stayed back and did Tapasya (a combination of meditation, prayer, and penance) so as to eventually attain the status of a goddess.

History

The Hidimba Devi temple was built in 1553 AD by Maharaja Bahadur Singh.

The Temple

This four-story wooden temple is dedicated to Hidimbi Devi, wife of Bhima, a figure in the Indian epic Mahabharata. The temple is surrounded by a cedar forest called Dhungiri Van Vihar at the foot of the Himalayas. The sanctuary is built over a huge rock jutting out of the ground which was worshiped as an image of the deity. The Hidimba Devi Temple has intricately carved wooden doors and a 24 meters tall wooden "shikhara" or tower above the sanctuary.

The tower consists of three-square roofs covered with timber tiles and a fourth brass cone-shaped roof at the top. Goddess Durga, forms the theme of the main door carvings. Also depicted are animals, foliate designs, dancers, scenes from Lord Krishna’s life and Navagrahas.  The temple base is made out of whitewashed, mud-covered stonework. An enormous rock occupies the inside of the temple, only a 7.5 cm (3 inch) tall brass image representing goddess Hidimba Devi.

A Foot print carved on this rock is worshipped. A rope hangs down in front of the rock, and according to a legend, in bygone days religious zealots would tie the hands of "sinners" by the rope and then swing them against the rock. About seventy metres away from the temple, there is a shrine dedicated to Goddess Hidimba's son, Ghatotkacha, who was born after she married Bhima.

Worship of Hidimba Devi

People in Manali worship Hidimba Devi as a deity. During Navaratri all Hindus across the nation worship goddess Durga, but people in Manali worship Hidimba Devi. Queues of people can be seen outside the temple, but the crowd increases during Navaratri.

Festivals

The Temple is also known for a fair held every year in Hindi month of Sravan in memory of Raja Bahadur Singh who built the temple. There is another fair too which is held on 14^th May every year in the celebration of the birthday Hadimba Devi. Women around and from surrounding villages come and celebrates the fair with music and dance.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 3 Kms from Manali Bus Stand, 43 Kms from Kullu, 53 Kms from Bhuntar Kullu Manali Airport, 248 Kms from Una Railway Station, 250 Kms from Shimla and 556 Kms from New Delhi Airport.

By Road:

Manali can be reached from Delhi by national highway NH 1 up to Ambala and from there NH 22 to Chandigarh and from there by national highway NH21 that passes through Bilaspur, Sundernagar, Mandi and Kullu towns. Luxury buses (including Volvos) usually ply overnight on this route and are available from all major bus terminals. Besides 12 Non-AC services, HRTC (Himachal Road Transport Corporation) runs five daily Volvo and AC buses on Delhi-Manali route and two separate Volvos by HPTDC (Himachal Tourism Development Corporation).

By Train:

There is no close railhead available close to Manali. The nearest broad gauge railheads are at Una (248 Kms), Kiratpur Sahib (268 Kms), Kalka (275 Kms), Chandigarh (310 Kms), and Pathankot (325 Kms). The nearest narrow gauge railhead is at Joginder Nagar (175 Kms). The Kalka–Shimla Railway is nostalgic narrow gauge route culminating at the state capital of Shimla wherefrom one has to travel by road to Manali.

By Air:

The nearest airport Bhuntar Airport is at Bhuntar town, situated on NH 21 about 53 Kms south of Manali and 10 Kms south of Kullu town. The airport is also known as Kullu-Manali airport. Air India has regular flights to the airport from New Delhi.

Location