KULU-MANALI

She is the goddess of victory and the Dussehra celebrates the victory of Rama over Ravana, the demon king, the conquest of the evil. The Dussehra celebrations at Kulu are aimed at the homage paid to Rama or Raghunathji by the village devtas, far and near. About 150 to 200 of them are brought by the villagers to Kulu, some in their chariots or palkis and some carried by their devotees. There is an order in which they are brought to the Kulu Raj Palace.

The first one is Hidimba Devi, the demon- goddess of the royal family. The idol is carried on a rath (chariot) twen     ty four miles down the valley from the Dungri temple above Manali. The main devotee ("chela") in his religious frenzy shakes violently and the rath oscillates but does not turn over.

Trumpets blow along with the raucous beating of the drums and a lamb will be thrown up into the air and caught by the devotees. The lamb is to be sacrificed at the end of the Dussehra. The Rai of Kulu ceremoniously pays homage and the deity is carried into a decorated room and set down. The deity of Tripura Sundari of Nagar comes from her three-tired quaint temple built of deodar wood.

The temple is in the Pagoda style with three successions of superimposed roofs, each one a little smaller than the one below it. This is an uncommon type of temple in this area. She is taken as the mother-goddess. Then other devis and devtas arrive and the same ritual of paying homage is done. Raghunathji, the presiding deity of Kulu, is carried to one end of the maidan. It is a smaller bronze image only a few inches high.

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