Chamunda Devi Temple,Dalhousie
Chamunda Devi Temple is nestled in a spectacular position on the spur of Shah Madar range of hills and opposite to the Chamba town. It is a major holy place for pilgrims that sits on the bank of river Baner and just 15 km away from Dharmshala. It was built by Raja Umed Singh in the year 1762. It's the only wooden temple with gabled roof in Chamba.
Overview
She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga. The name is a combination of Chanda and Munda, two monsters whom Chamunda killed. She is closely associated with Kali, another fierce aspect of Devi. She is sometimes identified with goddesses Parvati, Chandi or Durga as well. The goddess is often portrayed as living in cremation grounds or fig trees. The goddess is worshipped by ritual animal sacrifices along with offerings of wine and in the ancient times, human sacrifices were offered too. As the times have changed, meat, and wine are no longer offered As of today it has been known that animal sacrifices have been discouraged by texts such as the. Originally Devi Chamunda was discovered in Hinduism and later entered the Jain pantheon too. Though in Jainism, the rites of her worship include vegetarian offerings, and not the meat and liquor offerings
Earlier, the temple was accessed through a stone paved steep path that take 378 steps, but now travelers can reach by road as it is easily accessible and only 3 km away. Once you are here, you'll find the thick forests of Pathiar and Lahla that make it a perfect tourist attraction in Himachal Pradesh. The temple overlooks an enchanting view of the beautiful township, down the hill. This temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali, who is known as the Goddess of War.
The interior of the sanctum is embellished with carved silver sheets. The temple complex includes handicrafts centre that has various items like woodcarvings, wooden toys, honey, black pottery, Kangra tea and world popular Kangra Paintings. The architecture of the shrine is quite simple and sober but the religious influence is simply overwhelming. It has beautiful carvings rendering floral themes and different idol, overlooks enchanting views of the Chamba Valley and Himalayan range. During Navratras, people from all over the India visit in swarms and get the blessings of Chamunda Devi.
History
As legend goes, when Goddess Ambika was sitting at the top of the hill, the two devils namely Chanda and Munda tried to disturb her on which she got angered and from her knitted brows came the Goddess Kali in tiger skinned sari and a wreath of skull to kill both the demons and after killing them Goddess Ambika declared that kali would now be worshipped as Chamunda Devi.
The temple is around seven hundred year old and it houses a tank which is used by devotees for bathing. The temple has cave-like scoop on the backside of the temple, where a stone phallus and the symbol of Lord Shiva is kept. Statues of other god are also kept there.The temple is popular as Chamunda Nandikeshwar Dham among devotees as it is believed to be the home of Shiva and Shakti. Lord Hanuman and Lord Bhairav adore the main shrine as both are assembled in each side of the statue are considered as the guards of the Goddess.
The king sent out men to bring the idol. Although they were able to locate it but were not able to lift it. Again Devi appeared to the priest in a dream. She explained that the men could not lift the holy relic because they considered it an ordinary stone. She instructed him to get up early in the morning, take a bath, wear fresh clothes and go to the place in a respectful manner. He did as he was told and found that he could easily lift what a large group of men could not. He told the people that it was the power of the Goddess that brought the idol to the temple.
At the summit of the hill are views of the rolling green hills of theThe famous Chamunda Nandikeshwar Dham is an abode of Shiva Shakti since the saga of Puranas. According to a legend, the Goddess Chamunda was enshrined as chief Goddess with the title of Rudra in the battle between demon Jalandhra and Lord Shiva which made this place famous as “Rudra Chamunda”. Another legend has it that “Savarni Manamantra” battle between the gods and demons, Chamunda emerged as Chandika from an eyebrow of Goddess “Kaushiki” and was assigned the task of eliminating the demons “Chand” and “Mund”. Chandika fought a fierce battle with these two demons and at last killed them. Goddess Chandika took the slain heads of the two demons “Chand” and “Mund” to the Goddess “Kaushiki” who being immensely pleased, blessed Chandika and bestowed upon her the title of “Chamunda,” the name which is famous all around the world.
It is believed that around 400 years ago, a Raja and a Brahmin priest prayed to Chamunda Devi asking her consent to shift the image to an accessible location, then Maa Chumnda appeared in a dream to the priest granting him the permission. She told him to dig a certain area and subsequently, they will find an ancient idol.