| Shesh
nag, the serpent god, was approached. In order to subside the anger of Lord Siva Shesh Nag
hissed and hissed and there was a flow of boiling water passsing over the area and out
came a number of precious stones of hte type which was lost. Lord Siva was pacified. The
water still continues to be hot. Before the earth-quake of 1905 affecting this area also,
it is said, that this boiling water used to rise, to about ten feet height. There are several temples in the Mani Karan
village. The most important is that of Lord Raghunath. The Pandas (priests) of the village
claim that the idol of Rama was brought from Ayodhya and installed in this temple by the
Raja of Kulu. This lacks a historic confirmation. There was also an idol of Lakshman the
younger brother of Lord Rama Chandra. This has now disappeared. On the left hand side of
the Lord is the idol of goddess Sita. The temple is very old and on one of the stones in
its wall, the history of the temple is written which is not legible.
There is another very old temple of Lord Siva,
which got tilted during the earthquake of 1905. The great prestige with which Mani Karan
is held is seen by the fact that the Devatas of Kulu valley pay regular visits to Mani
Karan. The followers of the individual deities at different places are carried
ceremoniously in a procession to Mani Karan on specified auspicious days. |
