By : B.S. Krishna Murthy
It’s known as ‘Devbhoomi’ — Land of Gods — but Himalaya is also the land of unique temples that add to the intrigue and mystique of the hills. When we made a pilgrimage of ‘Kailas’ parikrama and ‘Manas Sarovar’ in 2012 we not only had ‘darshan’ in unique temples but also at every step we had Sai Baba’s blessings.
At ‘Muktinath’ as we trekked to the temple we had ‘darshan’ of Sai Baba before we entered the main sanctum. Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar are worshipped here and the priest is a woman. The sanctum is surrounded by 108 streams of water which lead on to form Gandaki river. My friend Vijayakumar dared to take bath in all these 108 streams chanting Sai Baba’s name and Vishnu Sahasranama.
There is a cellar in which Indra has lighted a lamp ages ago. Like Sai Baba’s ‘Dhuni’ even now the lamp is burning. The cellar opens for only one day a year. Devotees are not allowed to enter it. Even the priest enters the shrine blindfolded. The belief is that Nagraj, the king of snakes, remains inside the temple with his ‘mani’, or jewel and one is not supposed to look for the smallest of windows, and great care and secrecy is maintained.
The owner of a small ration shop, Heera Bugyali, told us “It is commonly believed that Latu is the brother of mountain goddess Nanda Devi. He was once going towards Kailash Parvat to meet her and halted his journey at this village. Feeling thirsty, he asked a local woman for water. She said that water was kept in one of the three earthen pots inside the house. However, he inadvertently drank liquor kept in one of the pots and his tongue fell to the ground. Nanda Devi subsequently appeared and said at this place Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar will be worshipped as ‘Muktinath’.
Another unique temple is the Duryodhana temple at Jakhol, that is probably the only one of its kind in the country. Interestingly, while local historians say that the temple’s deity is Duryodhana, many villagers refuse to acknowledge it as a Kaurava shrine, instead claiming that the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The priest told us “Since a negative image is associated with Duryodhana, many locals shy away from admitting that the temple is dedicated to him”. He showed us Sai Baba idol with a trident
Among the thousands of other shrines scattered across the Himalayan state, a few also stand out for the beliefs associated with them. Like the Kamleshwar Mahadev temple near Manokamna. The shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, attracts childless couples from across the world, since the belief is that those who perform rituals here with sincerity are blessed with progeny.
Providing details, Devendra Bhatt, who is a member of the temple committee, said, “During Baikunth Chaturdashi, the temple organizes a three-day fair and, on the last day, the couples coming here have to hold lit earthen diyas overnight inside the temple premises. There have been hundreds and thousands of couples whose prayers have been answered and they have come back to thank for the blessings.” The mythological story behind the temple is that Lord Ram had pledged to offer 1,000 flowers but he fell short of one flower. “In order to fulfill his pledge, Ram chopped off one of his fingers. Since then, it is believed that all requests and prayers that are made sincerely here are accepted by the deity,” Bhatt said.
As we were leaving Kathmandu, we were pleasantly surprised to hear Sai Bhajans at the hotel. There was a temple dedicated to Sai Baba. We had ‘darshan’ and felt that Baba was extremely pleased at our pilgrimage to Kailas-Manasa Sarovar.
Leave a Reply