Skip to main content

Information and Glimpse of International Shivratri Festival Mandi (Himachal Pradesh)

Mandi, Shivratri, Fair,

Local Deities, Goddess, Mandi,In the previous post, I shared with information and pictures of the ancient Bhootnath Temple of Lord Shiva in Mandi town. Today, I will be giving you an opportunity to see the glimpse of famous and international Shivratri festival held every year in Mandi near the Bhootnath temple. This fair lasts for seven days and starts on the Shivratri day. This fair is attending by hundreds of local deities and millions of people from across the world.

It was a great experience for me to attend this fair because I never saw such fair before in my life. If anyone wants to get the glimpse of the life of Pahari people then he needs to visit this fair. Local deities (Gods and Goddesses) from the temples situated in or around Mandi are invited to attend this festival and some deities travel for many days to reach this spot. During this festival, we can see the use of traditional musical instruments like Karnal, dhol etc.

Mandi is also known as small Kashi because of the 81 old temple situated here. This festival is believed to be started around 1802 because Mandi King Ishawri Sen was taken prisoner by Kangra ruler Sansar Chand in 1792 and he remained in prison for 12 years till when Gorkhas invaded the Kangra Kingdom to free Raja Ishawri Sen and restored his kingdom.

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

To thanks the God, he invited all the deities from the nearby area and when all deities reached Mandi town then it was Shivratri. In this way, this festival came to existence and it is still celebrated.



Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

After the end of this festival, the long march of people, police, artists, musicians deities and politicians through the whole city marking the end of this fair. This March is known as Jareb in the local language.

Check some of the Pictures of Mandi Shivratri Festival.

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,






Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

Jareb, Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,
Jareb Mandi Shivratri Festival

Mandi, Shivratri, Festival,

Karnal, Festival, Mandi, Shivratri, Himachal, Traditional, Himachali,
Use of Karnals During Mandi Shivratri Festival


Mandi, Shivratri, International, Festival, Jaleb, Local, Deities
Local Deities in Jareb (Parade) at Mandi International Shivratri Festival

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) Rooms Review (with Pictures)

Recently, I stayed in one of guest houses run by TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) in Tirumala. I did online booking for a single room under Rs 500 category from their online booking website www.ttdsevaonline.com. After reaching Tirumala, I did not get any problem in getting a room and system was very smooth so I got room allotment in just 5 minutes. Rooms under this category are average and can accommodate 2 to 5 people. In these rooms, TTD provide two beds with full bedding, two chairs and attached bathroom with Geyser. Room was clean when I entered my room; however, geyser in bathroom was not working plus pillows were not completely clean. Otherwise, it was one of best and economical arrangement available in front of people for stay in Tirumula. Rooms are available in the category of Rs 100, Rs 150, Rs 300, Rs 500 (non AC) and Rs 750, Rs 1000, Rs 3000 (AC). All these rooms can be easily booked online by visiting TTD online booking website (www.ttdsevaonline.com). People from nort

17th century Maa Tarna (Shyamakali) Temple, Mandi (Himachal)

I have visited many ancient and beautiful temples of the Himachal  and found them all unique in their beauty and construction. With changing landscape, we can see changes in the designs of temples. From the ancient wood temple of Shakti Devi in Chamba to Masroor Rock temple in Kangra , all temples in Himachal offer something unique and special. Today, I will talk about the Tarna Mata temple situated in the Mandi city of Himachal Pradesh that is also known as Choti Kashi because of 80 plus temples. The actual name of the temple is Shyamakali Temple and it was built by king Shyam Sen in the 17th century on the hill called Tarna; therefore, this temple has got its name of Tarna Mata from the name of the hill on which it was built.  This temple is also a sign of victory of the Mandi kingdom because Raja Shyam Sen built this temple after winning a battle against the rival king of  Suket Jeet Sen. Raja Shyam Sen of Mandi wished from Maa Kali to grant him a win over the Raja Jeet Sen and in

Beautiful Mahakaleshwar Pandoi Devta ji Temple at Pandoa (Shimla)

 You are aware of my road trip on the stretch Nalagrah-Ramshehr-Arki-Basantpur-Luhri -ANNI. When from Basantpur-Tatapani Road, we take a right turn on MDR 22 towards Luhri and Rampur then we follow the Satluj river continuously and get a chance to see communities living near Satluj river and in this valley. We also get a chance to see their culture and beliefs. Today, I am going to talk about the Pandoi Devta temple situated just a few meters away from this road at Pandoa village. Himachal Pradesh can be known as a place of thousands of deities; therefore, we say it the land of Gods. This temple is not visible from the road and you need to take an unpaved road that is 300 meters long to reach this temple. Pandoi Devta temple is a set of one main temple and two Kothis.  At this place, we can find the same style of Shivlinga as we find at the Ujjain; therefore, this place is also known as Mahakaleshwar Pandoi Devta ji Shahib. It is believed that this Shivlinga was created by Pandavas dur

Journey to Hill Station Paneu (Paneo) and Naag Temple (Lesser Known Gem of Hills)

 I always love to visit hilltops because they provide the ultimate beauty and adventure. My journeys to Hatu Peak Narkanda ,  Prashar Lake in Mandi , and to the ancient wooden temple of Skhati Devi in Chhatrari  are some of its examples. This time, I got a chance to visit an ancient Naag Temple situated at Paneu (Paneo) hill station where a British rest house is situated. This hill station and Naag temple are situated 7 KM away from Kungash in Anni Tehsil of Kullu. The ancient Naag Temple is situated at walking distance from the main top and gets a chance to walk through the tall (some are around 50 feet of height) deodar (Pine) Trees. The last six-kilometer road to the Paneo is not metaled and it is very narrow at some points accompanied by a steep climb. This area is predominately an apple-growing belt and we can find many apple orchids on the way.  Around the temple, we can find a small pond that gets its water from rain. The temple also resembles the famous Kamroo Naag temple and w

About Bhootnath Temple Mandi and its Pictures

People of Mandi city very well knows the importance of Bhootnath temple which is situated in the middle of the city. In the first look, one can observe that this temple is very old and purely made of stones. This temple was built by Raja Ajber Sen of Mandi in 1527 A.D, There is a story behind the building of this temple. According to the story, the then ruler of Mandi Raja Ajber Sen heard that a cow is offering her milk every day at a particular spot. To investigate the story, the king ordered to dig the place and found a Shiva Linga buried there. After finding Shiva Linga at this place, he ordered to construct the present Bhootnath temple. Even today, people can see the same Shiv Linga as the temple. The complete temple is made of stones with artwork done on them. This artwork at the Bhootnath temple gives us an idea about the art and culture of that time. Even after so many strong earthquakes in the area, this temple is standing firm which shows its strength. Bhootn