| Temples & Legends of Himachal Pradesh |
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| Temples & Legends Of India |
CHAMBA |
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| Chittari
temple has an annual fair. The deity is taken to be Adi Shakti (primeval energy). There is
an inscription on the temple indicating that Raja Meru Varman (A.D. 700) had raised it.
One Gugga is believed to have been the mason. It is said that Gugga had built a splendid
house for a Rama and as a reward he had his right hand chopped off so that he could not
reproduce another house like that. When this mason was taken for consulta- tion for the
construction of the temple at Chittari his lost hand was miraculously restored and he
built the temple. At Minghal village there is a famous Devi temple. It is said a widow with seven sons lived in a double-storey house. There was a strange occurrence when a black stone emerged at the fire place where the widow was cooking. The lady started shivering and realized a deity had possessed her. She ran out and called her sons that a Devi had appeared at their house. The sons made a joke about the Devi and said if the Devi would be able to make them plough with a single bullock instead of a pair of them immediately the sons were turned into stones. That strange image which had come out is worshipped as Minghal Devi. Strangely enough ploughing with a single bullock is common at this village. An annual fair is held where one hundred sheep and goats are sacrificed.Although the temples at Chamba the later capital of the erstwhile Chamba State for centuries and now the districtheadquarters are better known it is Brahmaur village about 39 miles from Chamba that is the Siva Bhumi or the area where the cult of Siva pre dominates.Brahmaur wasoriginally known as Brahmapura and was a seat ofBrahmani Devi the patron goddess of the valley. The temple of Brahmani Devi deity is very near to Brahmaur. Maru Varman the founder of the Chamba State had Brahmaur as his capital. Maru Varman was supposed to have his ancestral home at Ayudhya and Chamba State was first known as Ayudhya. |
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