On return to his village he spoke about the incident to some persons and brooded
and brooded. He showed abnormal symptoms and rushed out to the stream and disappeared by
jumping into it. The villagers thought he had become mad and committed suicide. They
performed his sradh (funeral observations).
Eighteen days after the man appeared with a
ladle with smoldering incense and the self-same round stone. At first he was taken to be a
ghost but the village diviner pronounced him to be the same person.
The man gave out the stone was Baglamukhi
Devi, a powerful manifestation of Durga and she wanted a temple to be built and
consecrated to her. This was done and the round stone was installed as the deity. The
doors and lintels, however, had carvings of Krishna episodes.
The Raja of Mandi learnt about the
appearance of the Devi and visited her. He gave a jagir for the temple.The Baglamukhi Devi
was widely propitiated and deeply venerated and the temple attracted pilgrims from far and
wide till the implementation of the Beas-Satlej Project submerged |