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PARSHURAMA OF NIRMAND / BHUNDA FESTIVAL OF NIRMAND.

- July 10, 2020

According to a story, the village Nirmand in Outer Seraj was founded by lord Parshurama , son of the great Rishi Jamadagni. With a purpose of exterminating the Kshatriyas of the warring community which had tried to assert their authority over the Brahmins, Parshurama is said to have cleared the earth of those valiant men twenty-one times but they survived, and were able to preserve their identity. Parshurama is said to have got the Brahmins settled in Dharmot, Tipri, Trambli, Chansari and Jagat Sukh in Kullu. The Nirmand Brahmins trace their lineage to ancestors who originally had come from Kashi, Garhwal and Kashrnir. PARSHURAMA KOTHI It is said that Birbal, one of the nine jewels of Akbar the Great, was a native of Nirmand who had left the village in pursuit of learning and achieving greater heights in life. He was a Brahmin by caste and he started his life as an ordinary versifier though not much educated. His original name was Mahesh Dass. It is stated that bef...

SHRINGI RlSHI OF SERAJ

- June 15, 2020

The divine spirit of Shringi Rishi reigns supreme not only in its native land in Seraj but its influence has also reached far and wide in adjoining areas of Mandi and Suket. On the down-hill projection of Lamba-Lambri peak (3250 metres) lies Sakiran Tibba, the sacred seat of the god. Here, every year in May, a great yajna is held, when large number of devotees converge to pay audience and speak to lum through us "gur" (oracle) about their problems. The event is followed by a local fair held at Banjar(Kullu), now a sub-divisional headquarters of Seraj. It was the great yajna performed by Shringi Rishi in the Tretayug that blessed Raja Dashrath of Ayodhya with four sons, Lord Rama being the eldest. So, the Devta's association with Raghunathjee of Kullu is obvious. Shringi Rishi is not only worshipped in Kullu-Seraj but he has also a number of shrines in Ayodhya, Alwar (Rajasthan) and in the south. It will be of interest to reproduce a para from Shankaracharya's travel...

RAGHUNATHJEE OF SULTANPUR (KULLU) ( History Of Kullu Dussehra )

- May 31, 2020

It was in July 1651 that the idol of Raghunathjee was brought from Ayodhya by one Damodar Dass, a brahmin of reputed piety and wisdom and installed it at Manikaran and then shifted to Sultanpur (Kullu). The then ruler Raja Jagat Singh invested the kingdom in the idol and himself became its regent. The story goes that Raja Jagat Singh wanted to exhort one Patha (about one kg) valuable pearls from Durga Datt, a brahmin of village Tipri situated in Parvati valley. Sensing that some deep conspiracy had been hatched by his enemies to eliminate him, Durga Datt preferred to perish himself alive with the members of his family by setting fire to his house rather submit to the whims and wishes of the Raja. The tragic end of Durga Datt, thereupon, agonised the Raja so much that he found himself in a state of a terrible curse. In order to expiate of his crime, the Raja was advised by state astrologers to send Damodar Dass to Ayodhya with a mission to steal the idol of Sri Raghunathjee and se...

STORY OF GODDESS HADIMBA

- May 28, 2020

The participation of goddess Hadimba of Dhungri (Manali) is a must for Dussehra festival in Kullu. The descendants of Pal dynasty which ruled over Kullu till 1841 , regard her as their great-grandmother. She is said to have bestowed upon this dynasty the kingdom of Kullu territory. The story goes that a chieftain ruled over a part of upper Kullu from his capital at Bhanara, a sleepy village above Jagat Sukh. He was a cruel and whimsical man and had ordered that his subjects should bring fresh milk daily to his household. Anyone who disobeyed his orders would be severely punished. One day it was a turn of a poor Brahmin, who had no milch cow of his own, nor he had the money to buy milk. Knowing that he would face the wrath of the ruler, the Brahmin got milk of his wife, who had given birth to a baby. That day, the chieftain relished the sweet dish more than ever before. He asked the Brahmin to explain about the superior quality of the milk he had supplied. The Brahmin told the truth tha...

GOD JAMLOO OF MALANA

- May 22, 2020

Strictly speaking, god Jamloo of Malana has the precedence over all the village gods of Kullu. He has well-knit shrines and temples throughout the valley. Malana, (2520 metres) a solitary village in Parvati valley stands isolated from the rest of the world. It is approachable by a difficult track from Jari through the narrow terrain of Malana torrent or the arduous route from Naggar via the Chanderkhani Pass (3750 metres). There is something mysterious about this remote little human settlement, for they do not themselves know whence and where they came from. They try to keep themselves aloof from the neighbours across the mountains and are either ignorant or incapable of giving their identification to the outsiders. The formidable mountain barriers have so effectively insulated this tiny village that its inhabitants have been able to keep their curious social, cultural and religious customs intact ever since they are said to have settled on this remote plateau. Devta Jamloo is a Buddhi...

Bhoshal Rana of Hat (Bajaura) - known for his stupidity and foolish manners.

- April 11, 2020

There was a chief called Bhoshal Rana of Hat (Bajaura) who had extended his hold as far as Baragarh fort in the upper Beas. In Kullu history, this Rana is known for his stupidity and foolish manners. A story still current about his style of functioning goes that a villager brought twelve pumpkins to the market for sale. He was confronted by eighteen men demanding the octroi. The poor peasant, thus, coined the couplet. " Bara Petha, Thara Dani, Bhosal Rana Sar na jani. " which means; twelve pumpkins and eighteen tax collectors, Bhosal Rana knows nothing about the governance. The Rana was married to a Suket princess. His Wazir Tita Mehta was infatuated with the beauty of the Rani, and the Rana was in love with the daughter of the Wazir. The Rani repelled bad intention of the Wazir, who then decided to take a revenge. The Wazir then persuaded the Rana to sacrifice the Rani by burying her alive to propitiate the water-god as water was not flowing from the new...

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