| Temples & Legends of Himachal Pradesh |
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| Temples & Legends Of India |
CHAMBA |
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is an interesting story about the ruler Mushan-Varman (820 A.D.). It is said that king
Lakshmi-Verman died without leaving any son but his rani was pregnant at the time of his
death. The Wazir and Purohit removed the rani when the Raja was defeated and met his
death. On the way the rani gave birth to a son and the baby was left in a cave. When the
Wazir and the Purohit learned about it they came back and found the infant in the cave
protected by a large number of mice keeping guard over him. They brought the child back to
the mother and both the mother and the child took up her residence in the house of a
Brahmin for about nine years without disclosing her identity. Ultimately the Brahmin who was adopted a guru by the rani recognized a foot-print of the boy as that of a royal person. The mother then disclosed the paternity of the child. The Brahmin took the mother and the child to the Raja of Suket. The Raja of Suket gave protection and ultimately the boy married the Raja's daughter. The name Mushan-Varman was given because of the protection given by the mice. The boy was provided with an army and overran Brahmapura. Killing of mice is prohibited in the Chamba royal family and a mouse caught in the palace is never killed. A later king Sahila-Varman (A.D. 920) conquered the lower Ravi Valley and transferred the seat of government from Brahmapura to the new capital, which he had founded at Champa.There are different legends about the origin of the new capital. One story is that after the new capital was founded it was seen that there could be no supply of good water. Sahila- Varman had a water course run from the Sarohta stream around Shah Madar Hill behind the town. But, somehow, the water did not enter the channel and the priests were consulted' as to the cause. The priests held that the spirit of the stream had to be appeased by the sacrifice of either the rani or his sort. |
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