HADIMBA DEVI TEMPLE
AT
MANALI
Hidimbi Devi Temple,
also known variously as the Hadimba Temple, is located in Manāli, a hill
station in the State of Himāchal Pradesh in north India.
Hadimba Devi Temple is
dedicated to the wife of Bhim, one of the five Pandava brothers in the Indian
epic Mahabharata. As the legend goes, Bhim married Hadimba and they had a son.
Later on, Hadimba left the place and became a spiritual.
The people later
erected a temple in her respect, known as Hadimba Temple. The temple is in
pagoda style and comprises no idol within, albeit, some footprints are engraved
and are worshiped by devotees.
The temple is also
known for a fair held every year in Hindi month of Sravan in the memory of Raja
Bahadur Singh, who built the temple. The fair is popularly known as Bahadur
Singh Re Jatar among locals.
There is another fair too which is held on
14th May each year in the celebration of birthday of Hadimba Devi. Women around
and from Dhungri forest come and celebrates this fair with music and dance.
Inside the temple,
there is a 3 inch tall brass image representing goddess Hadimba Devi. There is
a shrine which is dedicated to Ghatotkacha (son of Bhima-Hadimba) and is
located just about 70 metres from the temple.
The best time to
visit the temple is during May when it organises the three day Hidimba Devi
Festival. This festival attracts devotees from all over the world and features
colourful folk dance performances.
By Air
Bhuntar is the nearest airport from Manali at
a distance of 50 km. There is an availability of taxi services as well to Manali
from Bhuntar that will cost nearly Rs 1000 . By air, Bhuntar is
well-connected to Delhi. Delhi is the nearest airport that is at a distance of 565 km from Manali. The airport is
connected with major cities in India and several cities abroad.
By Rail
Manali is the nearest railway station which
is connected to mostly all the stations.
By Road
Manali is connected majorly to all the nearby
tourist destinations in Himachal via private bus services. State owned services are available too connecting it to other cities.
