Hidimba Devi Temple

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Hidimba Devi Temple is at Manali, a hill station in Himachal Pradesh state of north India. This is an ancient cave temple dedicated to Hidimba Devi, a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The temple is surrounded by a cedar forest at the foot of the Himalaya mountains. The sanctuary is built over a huge rock jutting out of the ground, which was worshipped as an image of the deity. The structure was built in the year 1553.^[1]

1 Design
2 Legend
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Design

The Hidimba Devi Temple has intricately carved wooden doors and a wooden shikhara or tower placed above the sanctuary.^[2] The wooden temple design is unusual. The tower is 24 metres tall, composed of three square roofs covered in timber tiles and topped by a brass cone-shaped fourth roof. The inside of the temple is occupied by the enormous rock leaving little usable space except for the ground floor. The temple base is whitewashed mud-covered stonework. The main entrance is elaborately carved of wood believed to be over 400 years old. The theme of the carvings is the earth goddess Durgha. However, only a 7.5 cm (3 inch) tall brass image represents the goddess herself.^[3] No idol is enshrined.

A rope hangs down that is said to have been used to tie sinners by the hand and swung them against the rock until they were bloody in the presence of the goddess.^[4]

[edit] Legend

According to legends Pandavas, the heroes of the Indian epic 'Mahabharat' stayed in Himachal during their exile. In Manali they were attacked by a powerful 'Rakshsa'(demon) Hadimb, in the ensuing fight Bheem, the strongest of the heroes of this epic, killed the demon. Hadimba was the sister of this demon, she married Bheem and gave birth to Ghatotkach who proved to be a great warrior in the war against Kaurvas. When Bhim returned to from exile Hadimba did not return with him,but stayed on and did Tapasya (a combination of meditation, prayer and penance) and over a period of time attained the status of Goddess.^{[citation needed]}