Bharmour

Last updated May 22, 2024

Bharmour, also known as Machu Picchu of Himachal, formally known as Brahmpura, was the ancient capital of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Situated at an altitude of 2,100 metres in the Budhil valley, forty miles to the south-east of Chamba, Bharmour is known for its scenery and for its ancient temples.^{[ citation needed ]} Some of the temples are believed to date from the 10th century.

As the whole country around Bharmour is supposed to belong to lord Shiva, it is popularly spoken of as Shiva Bhumi, "abode of lord Shiva". It lies between the Pir-Panjal and Dhauladhar range, between Ravi and Chenab valley. The land has abundant alpine pastures and provides home for nomadic shepherds, known as Gaddis, thus also called Gadderan. The foothills are filled with orchards and terraced farmsteads. "Kailash Vasio", as the people of Bharmour are known, are courteous and welcoming to visitors.^{[ citation needed ]}

Geographical profile

Profile

Area: Himachal Pradesh
Altitude: 2,100 metres (6,900 ft)
Climate: In winter, the temperature gets quite low and in summer temperature is mild
Rainfall: 1264.4 mm
Primary rainy season: June to September
Temperatures:
- Summer: 15 °C – 20 °C
- Winter: comes down to even 0 °C or even lower
Languages: Gaddi, Hindi
Months in which Bharmour can be visited are April to October as in winters the land there can get under snow as high as 1.5 to 1.8 m, as informed by the locals.

Bharmour, view from the top Bharmour.jpg — Bharmour, view from the top

Population

Male: 14,000
Female: 12,213
Total Family: 6,136

History

Meru, the father of the first recorded prince Jaistambh in the Chamba Vanshavali, was the first to settle Bharmour. He belonged to a ruling family of Ayodhya. Accompanied by his youngest son Jaistambh, Meru penetrated into the upper Ravi valley through the outer hills. He defeated the petty Ranas holding the territory there and founded the town Brahmpura and made it the capital of a new state. This event is believed to have taken place in the middle of the 6th century A.D..

According to one legend, the name Brahampura was in use at a still earlier period for the more ancient kingdom of Bharmour which existed in the territories of Garhwal and Kumaon, and Meru gave the same name of Brahampura to the state that he founded with present Bharmour as his capital. After Meru, several Rajas ruled in succession until Sahil Varman. It was Sahil Varman who conquered the lower Ravi valley and transferred the seat of government from Brahampura to the new capital he founded at Chamba. Bharmour was capital for nearly four hundred years.

In September 2007, the Government of Himachal Pradesh started a helicopter service to the temple located at an altitude of 4,300 metres.

Chaurasi Temple

Chaurasi Temple is located in the centre of Bharmour town and it holds immense religious importance because of temples built around 1400 years ago. The life of people in Bharmour centres around the Chaurasi Temple complex, named so because of 84 shrines built in the periphery of Chaurasi Temple. "Chaurasi" is the Hindi word for the number eighty-four. The Shikhara style temple of Manimahesh occupies the centre of the complex. Chaurasi Temple complex was built approximately the 7th century, although repairs of many temples have been carried out in later periods. There are 84 big and small temples in the temple complex.

Chaurasi is a spacious level ground in central Bharmour where the galaxy of temples mostly in the form of Shivalingas exists. The Chaurasi Temple complex offers a delightful, clean and scenic view. Another temple built in the same style is that of Lord Vishnu cast in his Narasimha avatar.

Major temples in the complex

Lakshana Devi Temple (Lakhna Devi/Bhadrakali): The temple of Lakshana Devi is the oldest temple at Chaurasi Temple, Bharmour. It retains many of the old architectural features of wooden temples and has a richly carved entrance. It is said to be constructed by Raja Maru Varman (680 AD). It is dedicated to Durga in her aspect of four-armed Mahishasuramardini, the slayer of the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. The carvings include themes of Shaivism and Vaishnavism.^[1]^[2]^[3]
Manimahesh (Shiva) Temple: the Manimahesh Temple which stands in the centre of the Chaurasi Temple, is the main temple, enshrining a huge Shiva linga. The Shiva linga is nothing but a symbol or characteristic mark of lord Shiva and is worshipped in a symbol.
Narsingh (Narasimha) Temple: Narasimha (Sanskrit: Narsingh) or Nrusimha, also spelled as Narasingh whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion". Narasimha is an incarnation of Vishnu in which the god is represented in therianthropic form as half man and half lion. The statue is in brass and dated to the 7th century.
Lord Nandi Bull Temple: the life-size metal bull Nandi, locally known as Nandigan with the broken ear and tail, can be seen standing in a modern shed in front of Manimahesh temple. Nandi is chief of Ganesh and Shiva's foremost attendant, who had shape of the bull and qualities of noble devotee. Usually in front of Shiva temples the Shilpa Texts provide for a couchant bull placed outside and staring at his lord Shiva. Instead, here it is a standing life-size Nandi bull. The Visnudharmotra Purana, however, describes such a Nandi bull.
Dharmeshvar Mahadev (Dharamraj) Temple: Dharamraj, known as Dharmeshvar Mahadev, was given a seat on the northern corner of Chaurasi by Maru Varman. It is the belief of locals that every departed soul stands here to seek final permission of Dharamraj to proceed ahead and travels through this temple after death seeking dwelling in Shiva Loka. It is believed to be the court of Dharamraj and is locally called "dhai-podi", which means two and half steps.
Ganesh or Ganpati Temple: the Lord Ganesha Temple is situated near the entrance of the Chaurasi Temple. The temple was constructed by the rulers of the Varman dynasty as stated in an inscription erected in the temple, by Meru Verman in circa 7th century A.D. The wooden temple of Ganesha was probably set on fire in the Kira invasion of Bharmour and the image was mutilated by cutting off its legs. The temple of Ganesha is enshrined in a bronze image of Ganesha. This magnificent image is life size with both legs missing.

Related Research Articles

Chamba district is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains of northern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhauladhar</span> Himalayan mountain range

Dhauladhar is a mountain range which is part of a lesser Himalayan chain of mountains. It rises from the Shivalik hills, to the north of Kangra and Mandi. Dharamsala, the headquarters of Kangra district and the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, lies on its southern spur in the Kangra Valley. Chamba lies to the North of this range.

The Pataleshwar Caves, also referred to as the Panchaleshvara temple or Bhamburde Pandav cave temple, are an 8th-century rock-cut Hindu temple from the Rashtrakuta period located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Dedicated to Shiva, it was a monumental monolithic excavation with a notable circular Nandi mandapa and a large pillared mandapa. It is a temple of three rock-cut cave sanctums, likely dedicated to Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu originally, but currently to Parvati-original Shiva-Ganesha. A garden now surrounds the site, new idols have been placed elsewhere in the complex. The interior of the caves have suffered damage from vandalism. Outside, the monument shows the effects of natural elements over the centuries.

Dodda Basavana Gudi is situated in Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, area of South Bengaluru, part of the largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. The Hindu temple is inside a park called Bugle Rock.

Chamba is a town in the Chamba district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. According to the 2001 Indian census, Chamba has a population of 20,312 people. Located at an altitude of 1,006 metres (3,301 ft) above mean sea level, the town is situated on the banks of the Ravi River, at its confluence with the Sal River.

Hoysaleswara temple, also referred simply as the Halebidu temple, is a 12th-century Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva. It is the largest monument in Halebidu, a town in the state of Karnataka, India and the former capital of the Hoysala Empire. The temple was built on the banks of a large man-made lake, and sponsored by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire. Its construction started around 1121 CE and was complete in 1160 CE.

Kareri Lake is a shallow high elevation fresh water lake located on the southern spur of the Dhauladhar range approximately 9 km northwest of Dharamsala in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manimahesh Lake</span> Lake in Himachal Pradesh, India

Manimahesh Lake is a high altitude lake situated close to the Manimahesh Kailash Peak in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas, in the Bharmour subdivision of Chamba district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The religious significance of this lake is next to that of the Lake Manasarovar in Tibet.

Murdeshwar is a town in Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India, It is famous for the world's second tallest Shiva statue, the town lies on the coast of the Laccadive Sea and is also famous for the Murudeshwara Temple. The town has a railway station on the Mangalore–Mumbai Konkan railway route.

In Hinduism, the yatra (pilgrimage) to the tirthas has special significance for earning the punya needed to attain the moksha (salvation) by performing the darśana, the parikrama (circumambulation), the yajna, the Dhyana, the puja (worship), the prarthana, the dakshina, the seva, the bhandara, etc. These sacred places are usually located on the banks of sacred waters, such as sacred rivers or their tributaries, the kundas, the ghats, or the stepwells, or the temple tanks.

Mankameshwar Temple in Agra is one of the ancient temples devoted to Lord Shiva. The temple is situated at Rawatpara, near Agra Fort Railway Station.

Chhatrari is a village in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located 48 km from Chamba.

The Manimahesh Kailash Peak, 5,653 metres (18,547 ft), also known as Chamba Kailash, which stands towering high over the Manimahesh Lake, is believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity. It is located in the Bharmour subdivision of the Chamba district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is the fifth most important peak among the group of five separate peaks in Himalayas in separate locations collectively known as the Panch Kailash or "Five Kailashas", other being Mount Kailash in first place, Adi Kailash in second, Shikhar Kailash in third, and Kinnaur Kailash in fouth place in terms of importance. The peak is 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Bharmour in the Budhil valley. It is one of the major pilgrimage sites as well as a popular trekking destination in Himachal Pradesh. The Manimahesh Lake is at the base of the Kailash peak at 3,950 metres (12,960 ft) and is also held in deep veneration by people of Himachal Pradesh, particularly the Gaddi tribe of the region. In the month of Bhadon, on the eighth day of the new moon period a fair is held in the precincts of the lake that attracts thousands of pilgrims.

The Mahabaleshwar Temple, Gokarna is a 4th-century CE Hindu temple located in Gokarna, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka state, India which is built in the classical Dravidian architectural style. It is a site of religious pilgrimage. The temple faces the Gokarna beach on the Arabian Sea. The temple deifies the Pranalinga also called Atmalinga or Shiva Linga In legend, it is said that the deity of the temple will bestow immense blessings to devotees, even to those who only glimpse it. Currently the administrative charge of the temple is with an Overseeing Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice BN Srikrishna, a Retired Justice of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. It is one of the 275 paadal petra sthalams expounded in the Tevaram, a sacred Tamil Shaivite text written during the 6th and 7th centuries by 63 saints called Nayanars.

Mukteshwar Mahadev Temple, also known as Mukesaran Mandir, is a shrine to Shiva and man-made cave complex located near Pathankot City, Punjab, India. on Shahpur Kandi Dam road. It is a Hindu temple containing representations of Ganesha, Brahma, Vishnu, Hanuman, and Parvati. It is considered to be one of the most sacred places around Pathankot. According to legend, the Pandavas stayed in the caves for a night during their exile (Agayatwas), and it is said that some of the caves date to the time of the Mahabharata.

Karsog is a town and municipal area in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.

Chaurasi Temple is a temple complex consisting of 84 different shrines, located in the center of Bharmour town of Chamba district. It holds immense religious importance because of temples built around 1400 years ago. Life of people in Bharmour centers around the temple complex-Chaurasi, named so because of 84 shrines built in the periphery of Chaurasi Temple. Chaurasi is the Hindi word for number eighty four. The beautiful valabhi-Shikhara style architecture of Manimahesh occupies the center of the complex. Chaurasi Temple Complex was built approximately in 7th century, although repairs of many temples have been carried out in later period. There are 84 big and small temples in Chaurasi temple complex.

The Lakshana Devi Temple in Bharmour is a post-Gupta era Hindu temple in Himachal Pradesh dedicated to Durga in her Mahishasura-mardini form. It is dated to the second half of the 7th-century, and is in part one of the oldest surviving wooden temples in India.

The Mahadev Temple in Deobaloda is dedicated to Lord Shiva in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. This temple belongs to the Kalchuri Period. The temple is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. The temple witnesses high footfall during Mahashivratri when the devotees from nearby villages gather here for Lord Shiva’s blessing. The event is also accompanied by a small fair.

References

↑ Hermann Goetz (1955). The Early Wooden Temples of Chamba. E. J. Brill. pp. 14, 59–65, 75–83.
↑ Omacanda Hāṇḍā (2001). Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples. Indus. pp. 138–151. ISBN 978-81-7387-115-3.
↑ Ronald M. Bernier (1997). Himalayan Architecture. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 139–142. ISBN 978-0-8386-3602-2.