An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kangra Part I

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kangra Part -I

View of Nagarkot Fort 

District Kangra is a very beautiful district of Himachal Pradesh which shares it's boundaries with district Kullu and Mandi in the East , district Hamirpur and Una in South , district Chamba and district Lahaul & Spiti in the North and  Gurdaspur district of Punjab in the West. 

View of Shivalik and Dhauladhar mountain ranges of Kangra district.

In the Southern  escarpment of Himalayas the Shivalik range , Dhauladhar mountain range and Himalayas from South West to North East  which covers the entire Kangra district and has altitude varying between 500 metres to 5000 metres above mean sea level .

The district Kangra was the largest district of composite Punjab  before 1st November 1966 having six Tehsils Namely :-  1. Kangra  2. Nurpur 3. Palampur 4. Dehr Gopipur 5. Hamirpur and 6. Una .

On 1st November 1966 the hilly areas of Punjab were merged in Himachal Pradesh thus Vishal Himachal Pradesh was made  and Kangra was merged in Himachal Pradesh .

On 1st September 1972 the present Kangra district came into existence when re - organization of districts was executed by the Government of Himachal Pradesh along with  district Hamirpur and Una .

At one time Lahul and Spiti were  separate Waziries of Kullu sub divisions and was a part of Kangra district of Punjab . Kullu was a tehsil of Kangra till 1962 and Lahaul and Spiti which was created a district in 1960 was also a part of Kangra district .

Population wise , district Kangra is a largest district  in Himachal Pradesh having 15 Assembly constituencies and it's headquarter is at Dharmshala 25 Km from Kangra town . The geographical area of Kangra is 5739 square Kilometres having 3906 villages . The name of the district is on  the name of its Kangra town .

In the ancient times the name of Kangra was Nagarkot and was the part of Trigarta Empire, the geographical territory  of Trigarta was between Satluj  ,Beas and Ravi rivers .  Trigarta was a Northern Indian region of Indian subcontinent  with its capital at Prasthatla  [ Present Jalandhar ] , Multan and  Kangra.  The  founder of Trigarta was Vrishni Dynasty  and was ruled by this dynasty .

View of Kangra Fort 

Tehsils in district Kangra  :- 

To have a better administration and development in the district as population wise district is large at present the Tehsils in district Kangra are :-

1. Kangra 2. Dehra Gopipur , 3. Nurpur 4.Jawali, 5. Indora, 6.Shahpur ,7. Baroh, 8.Khundian , 9. Dadasiba ,10. Jaswan , 11.Rakkar ,12. Fatehpur ,13. Baijnath ,14. Jaisinghpur , 15. Thural , 16. Dharmshala , 17. Multhan ,18. Palampur ,19. Jawalamukhi and 20 . Nagrota Bagwan .

Sub Tehsils :-

Following are sub Tehsils in the district:-

1.Dheera ,2. Nagrota Surian , 3. Kotla  ,4. Gangath ,5. Haripur ,6. Panchrukhi ,7. Chadhiar ,8. Harchakian , 9. Almpur ,10. Darini ,11. Manjheen ,12 . Bhawarna , 13. Lagru , 14. Pragpur and 15 .Sullah .

View of Nagarkot [Kangra ]

Development Blocks :- 

To ensure proper development following development Blocks are functioning in the district .

1. Kangra ,2. Nagrota Bagwan ,3. Rait , 4. Baijnath,5. Dehra, 6. Bhawarna , 7. Fatehpur, 8. Indora ,9. Lamba Gaon , 10. Nurpur ,11. Panchrukhi ,12. Sullah , 13. Pragpur ,14. Nagrota Surian, 15. Dharmshala ,17. Baroh , 18. Palampur , 19 Khundian and 20. Dadasiba .

Kangra Fort 

Brief History :-

As per Mahabharata the Trigarta had been established  before the battle of Mahabharata and it was founded by King Bhumi Chand. The 234 th king Shusharma had taken part in the battle of Mahabharata from The side of Kauravas . King Shusharma was the king of Trigarta .

As mentioned in Rajtrangini  Raja of Kashmir in 470 Shrestha sen and  Raja Pravar sen in 520 AD  had attack on Trigarta and got succeeded . 

Heunsang a Chinese traveler scholar  visited India during the  regime of King Harshvardhan from 629 to 644  B. C. He wrote in his book about the  administrators of India . Heunsang had been the guest of king Utitas in Kangra hills in Trigarta (Kangra ) and  on his return journey he had been stayed at Jalandhar during 643 A. D . At that time the king of Trigarta and Kashmir were paying tribute to King Harshvardhan .  It means King Harshvardhan had established his suzerainty on these kingdoms.

Beautiful View of Kangra 

Kangra Fort was built by Rajas of Katoch dynasty and they had  proved themselves the descendants of King Shusharma who had favoured Kauravas in Mahabharata battle . Traditionally the Kangra fort is said to be founded by King Shusharma .

In 883 to 903 AD Raja Prithvi Chand I had fought against Shankar Verman the king of Kashmir .

Mehmud Gazanwi made three expedition to India but during fourth expedition 1009 he  succeeded  and captured the Kangra Fort and he looted the fort , Brajeshwari temple  the fort remained under him till 1043 A. D.

During this period Raja Jagdish Chand the 202th descendant of king Shusharma was the king of Nagarkot.   Mahipal Tomer king of Dehli defeated Mehmud Gazanwi and fort was liberated in 1043 A.D 

In 1051 - 52 A.D. the Nagarkot fort was again lost , A son of Mehmud Abdul Rashid appointed Hastagin Hajib as governor of Punjab .

In 1060 A .D . Raja Kangra again recaptured the Nagarkot fort . Thus Nagarkot fort had suffered many attacks .

In 1170 Trigarta  was being ruled by Raja Padam Chand when his younger brother got annoyed with him and established Jaswan as a new state with Rajpur as capital of Jaswan state .

In 1330A.D. Raja Prithvi Chand  was ruling the Nagarkot and during his reign, Mohammad Bin Tuglak  made an expedition to Nagarkot and captured in Kangra Fort in 1337 A.D .

Period of 1360 A.D.  -- 1375 A.D.  :- 

Raja Rup Chand was the king of Kangra in power  and he was taking part in revengeful expeditions against central authority and plundered the plains up to Dehli . When he was returning  suffered an encounter with  Sultan of Kashmir and lost all wealth to Shahab -Ud - din

Raja Rup Chand was against the central authority so Feroze Shah Tughlaq invaded the Kangra fort to teach a lesson to Raja Rup and besieged the fort with his army in 1365 A.D. as per " Tarikh - i -Feroze  -Farishta " and " Tarikh -i - Feroze - Shahi ."

 Raja Rup Chand and Feroze Shah came to an agreement and accepted the suzerainty of Feroze Shah Tuglaq later .

Later  Firoz Shah came to Jawalamukhi and took 1300 books  written in Sanskrit with him and got translated in Persian language through Ajjudin Khalid Khani . These books were treasure of Philosophy , Astrology and Divination . This translated book was named as " Dalai- i- Firozshahi ."

View of Railway Bridge 

Period Between 1375 to 1390 A.D. :-

During this period Raja Sangar Chand ruled the Nagarkot. After Raja Rup Chand his son Sangar Chand became Raja of Nagarkot and he ruled the state till 1390 A . D . During this period in 1389 AD ,Son of Mohammad Tuglaq Nasiruddin remained refugee in Kangra hills  and was called to Delhi in 1390 .

 Period Between 1390 to 1405 :- 

In 1390, after Raja Sangar Chand , Raja Magh Chand became Raja of Nagarkot and ruled the state till 1405 . During this period Taimurlung  looted  the Shivalik hills in 1398 A. D. and when he was returning in 1399 he also looted Dhameri  , the name of Dhameri was later kept Nurpur on the name of Begum Noorjahan. Raja Hindoor helped him  . Now the name of Hindoor is now Nalagarh which is in district Solan . At that time Raja Alam Chand was the king of Hindoor .In the 14 th. century Taimurlung was powerful ruler  whose Empire was spread over western Asia  , middle Asia up to India . He was born on 8th . April 1336 in Samarkand and died on 18 th. February 1405 . Though he was lame but this  never came in his way in his life .

Period Between 1405 to 1528 AD. : -

In 1405 AD , after  Raja Megh Chand , Hari Chand -I became Raja of Kangra . During this year when  he was on hunting in forests of Hadsar [Guler ]  he fell down in well and got missed  from his hunting troup, search was made but  they can't find the King  . So considering him dead ,his younger brother Karan Chand  II was made the King of Kangra .

After 21 days a marchant pedestrian passed by  that route and found king Hari Chand -I. When Raja Hari Chand -I came to know that his younger brother Karan Chand - II had been declared King , he didn't returned to Kangra and founded Guler as his new state in 1415 with Haripur its capital . The Guler state annexed by British in 1813 AD 

Raja Karan Chand ruled Kangra till 1430 and he was granted the title ," Bada Raja."  

Then Sansar Chand - I , the son of Karan Chand became Raja of Kangra in 1430 AD. 

Raja Sansar Chand - I  ruled the state till 1450 .

 Raja Sansar Chand I had two sons  , Devangga Chand and Narendra Chand .

In 1450 AD.  Devangga Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state till 1465 AD .

In 1465 A D,  Narendra Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state till 1480 A.D.

From 1480 to 1490  the son of Raja Narendra Chand   , Suvira Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state till 1490 AD.

Period 1490 to 1510 AD.

During this period after Raja Suvira Chand his son  Raja Prayag Chand became Raja of Kangra and ruled the state from 1490 to 1510 AD.

Period 1510 to 1528 AD.

The son of Raja Prayag Chand , Raja Ram Chand became Raja of Kangra in 1510 and ruled the state till 1528 

Beautiful View Of Kangra 

The history of Nagarkot , the present Kangra  from 1528AD onwards will be covered in the next Post .

 

Veer Bal Diwas

 Veer Bal Diwas 

Veer Bal Diwas a tribute to the greatest sacrifice of Baba Joravar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh , Sons of 10 th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh Ji on 26 th December 1705 .

A day ," Veer Bal Diwas" is celebrated on 26 th of December to remember and Salute to the Baba Joravar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh ji both  sons of Guru Gobind Singh , the tenth Guru of Sikhs, who were laid alive in the wall at Fatehgarh Sahib when they refused to accept Islam religion as  ordered by  Empror Aurangzeb on 26th December 1705 .

On January 9 th 2022 Guru Gobind Singh Jayantee  the  Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi had announced that 26 th December will be celebrated as Veer Bal Diwas to remember and Salute to the great sacrifice of Sons of 10 th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji .

The younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Baba Joravar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh ji were laid alive in the wall at Fatehgarh Sahib on 26 December 1705 when they refused to change their Hindu religion  as ordered by Empror Aurangzeb .  This unhuman order was complied by Navab Wazir Khan .

So the first Veer Bal Diwas has been celebrated on 26 December 2022 in Major Dhyan Chand stadium New Delhi and Hon'ble Prime Minister Mr . Narendra Modi has also attended the Veer Bal Diwas ceremony .  

Christmas , " A Festival of Love , Forgiveness and Kindness ."

 Christmas a Festival of Love, Forgiveness and Kindness  :-

Christmas a Festival celebrated to express the happiness and input the basic Mantras of life in our daily life on the holy birth of Jesus Christ . 

The Christmas day is celebrated on 25 th  of December every year . It is celebrated among billions of people around the world .

The Christmas spreading the tht massage of Love , service of mankind , forgiveness and kindness in this world which are the basic Mantras of life .

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur , Part - III Continued - Tourist Places. Nadaun.

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III continued -Tourist Places  :- 

Nadaun  :- 

Panoramic view of Beas river near Nadaun .

Nadaun is one another beautiful town in district Hamirpur which is situated on the left bank of river Beas at a distance of about 28 Kms from Hamirpur at an elevation of 508 metres above mean sea level on Hamirpur Nadaun Jawala ji Kangra National Highway i.e. NH No 3 and NH No 303.

View of Gurdwara on the bank of river Beas at Nadaun.

The beautiful landscapes with lush green forests and panoramic views of Shivalik hills are the charm to the eyes  of visitors.

The the town is 12 Kms from famous Shakti Peeth Jawala ji temple towards Hamirpur side . The town is also connected with  Jalandhar which is about 113 Kms from Nadaun town .

Nadaun is a sub-divisional and tehsil headquarter and comes under Nagar Panchayat Nadaun . Here we can visit many places like historical Gurdwara , Amtar fort ,Bilkaleshwar Mahadev Temple  , Palace  ,Dhayanu Bhagat Samadhi ,Amtar cricket stadium and panoramic views of nature along river Beas .

Amtar cricket stadium :- 

It is a very beautiful site situated at a distance of about 2  Kms from Nadaun town . A link road connects the stadium with the main road .  

Part View of Aatal Bihari Vajpayee  Cricket Stadium Nadaun .

The stadium is constructed by Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and is named after the name of our former Hon'ble Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee . It also called Amtar cricket ground .  The first match played in this ground was Ranji Trophy match between Himachal and Services in 2004 - 05 . 

Historical Gurdwara  : -

Nadaun which at present is a tehsil and sub division of the district Hamirpur in olden days was a part of princely state Kangra.

View of Gurdwara Daswin Patshahi Nadaun , district Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh.

This historical Gurdwara is located on the bank of river Beas in the West of the town and is dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh Daswin Patshahi . Guru Gobind Singh had fought the Nadaun battle against Mughal  General Alif Khan in support of Raja Bheem Chand of Kehlur and some other hill chiefs. The Alif Khan had been sent by Governor of Jammu Mairi Khan for the collection of arrears of tribute to help Aurangzeb in the battle against Marathas .

This battle was fought on 20 th March 1691 and Mughal General was routed out and was forced retreating in the river bed leaving back his weapons , ammunition and horses  and other valuable contents . Guru Gobind Singh  asked his Sikhs to bring the weapons , ammunition , horses and other minerals  and used it for training of Sikh Army .

View of Gurudwara Nadaun 

Guru Gobind Singh Ji spent 8 days at Nadaun after the battle . So this Gurudwara  Daswin Patshahi was established in his memory by Rai Bahadur Washakha  in 1929. From 1935 SGPC had taken over this Gurudwara and Local committee is managing this historic Gurudwara .

View of Nadaun Bridges over River Beas .

The  site is very beautiful and thousands of people visit  this historic Gurudwara .

Nadaun Fort [ Amtar Fort  ] :- 

View of Amtar Nadaun Fort 

At one time Nadaun was under the rule of Maharaja Sansar Chand  who was a famous  king of Kangra princely state  of Katoch dynasty and ruled the state from  1775 to 1823.

View of the Historic Building 

Maharaja Sansar Chand is known  for his contribution  to provide protection to Kangra style painting art .

Paintings on the walls of Fort 

Nadaun Fort which is also named Amtar Nadaun Fort is located on a hill top about 2 Kms from Nadaun town was a Royal residence of Maharaja Sansar Chand . The Fort today is in dilapidated condition but the frescoes and paintings on the walls say a lot about the royal history of Maharaja Sansar Chand of Katoch dynasty .

The frescoes and Paintings on walls of the royal fort .

Even today the visitors come to see the  Royal Amtar Nadaun Fort .

Bilkaleshwar Mahadev temple :- 

Very famous temple , Bilkaleshwar Mahadev temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati  is situated at a distance of about 7 Kms from Nadaun on Nadaun Sujanpur road .

It is said that this temple was built by Pandavas during Mahabharata period  when they were on   Gupt vas for one year   . Before completing the construction they had to leave this place because  Pandavas had been recognised by the people . The remaining work was completed by Katoach dynasty .

The Bilkaleshwar Mahadev temple is situated on the confluence of river Beas and Kunah Khad  is a centre of faith for people of this region .

Dhayanu Bhagat Samadhi  at Nadaun :- 

This is one another holy place for Hindus situated at Nadaun . Dhayanu Bhagat was a great devotee of Mata Jawala ji . Once in sixteenth century Bhagat Dhayanu was going to Nagarkot Kangra to visit the Darbar of Maa Brajeshwari and Jawala ji with his one thousand  devotees of Bhagwati Brajeshwari and Jawala ji .

When Empror Akbar came to know about this , Empror called Bhagat Dhayanu and asked about his journey . On this Dhayanu Bhagat told that At Jawala ji a continuous flame is burning and is dedicated to Maa Bhagwati Brajeshwari and Jawala Mata  and Maa fullfills all the wishes of devotees who pray with true heart .

On this Empror said if you have so faith on your Bhagwati then I will cut the head of your horse and you pray  for life your horse and let us see, can  Bhagwati Brajeshwari give life to your horse ?

Dhayanu Bhagat said certainly Maa will give life to my horse . On listening Dhayanu Bhagat 's answer , Empror cut the head of horse . Dhayanu Bhagat came to the temple and  did Jagran for the night and in the morning he prayed before Mas Brajeshwari to save his face by giving life to his horse other wise he himself will cut his head and offer in the feet of Maa Brajeshwari. 

When the Bhagwati did not replied , he took Khanda and cut his head and  sacrificed in the feet of Maa Brajeshwari. 

On this Maa Brajeshwari appeared and gave life to Dhayanu Bhagat and told that your horse had also been given life . When Empror saw that horse re gained the life , he himself came to Jawala ji and diverted a water canal to lit off the flame of Jawala ji but flame appeared on the water , then Empror Akbar came on barefooted and  offered a golden Chhater to Mata but it turned to other unknown metal  and Akbar bowed his head before  Maa Jawala ji and Brajeshwari and returned back . Even that Chhater  is  lying in Jawala ji temple today . So Dhayanu Bhagat was a great devotee of Mata Brajeshwari and Jawala ji.

Dhayanu Bhagat spent last 20 years of his life at Nadaun and daily used to go to Jawalamukhi temple to worship Mata Jawala ji on his horse . So where Bhagat Dhayanu spent last days of life in Thana Nath Matth at Nadaun,  his Samadhi was established in Nadaun Thana Nath Matth . The Samadhi sthal is in need of its proper   care and Management by the Dhayanu Bhagat trust or Jawala ji temple trust  . 

Panoramic views of nature along river Beas at Nadaun  :-

View of river Beas 

Just have a attention on these lines  :-

" Kunjana jayee  rahiyan Nadaun , Thande Paani  de bagde Naun , Pal bhar Bayee Lena ."

Scenic beauty of Nature at Nadaun.

These lines describe that Nadaun is such a beautiful place where birds enhance the beauty of nature , the cool water flowing in the water resources  ,  so  to enjoy such beautiful nature , every one wants to rest a while  at Nadaun .

View of Nadaun .

The lush green forests and panoramic views of Beas river is also attractions for tourists  at this beautiful town ..

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III continued, Tourists places

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III continued  :-

Tourist places  :-

Sujanpur Tihra :- 

Sujanpur Tihra Fort 

A beautiful town Sujanpur Tihra is about 22 Km from Hamirpur district headquarters  and about 61  Km from Kangra located on the left bank of river Beas on Hamirpur Palampur Kangra road . 

The town  comes under Sujanpur Tihra Nagar Panchayat. At present Sujanpur Tihra is a sub division , Tehsil and Development Block headquarters .

At one time Sujanpur Tihra was the capital of Katoch dynasty . The palace and Sujanpur Tihra fort are historical monument of that time . The Sujanpur Tihra was founded by Maharaja Abhey Chand in 1748 A.D.

As per Jawalamukhi Treaty  on 20 th July 1809 between Maharaja Sansar Chand II and Maharaja Ranjit Singh the Empror of Lahore Maharaja Ranjit y took over Kangra Fort  then Maharaja Sansar Chand made his capital at Sujanpur Tihra .

Maharaja Sansar Chand constructed a very big ground about one square Kilometre called Chaugan in the middle of town , which was the parade ground of his army . Army was trained in this ground .

View of Sujanpur Tihra Ground 

Maharaja Sansar Chand Museum :- 

Maharaja Sansar Chand Museum is run by the royal family of Kangra .

Narmadeshwar Mahadev temple :-

Maharaja Sansar Chand also built many temples in the town with a beautiful blend of Nagra style architecture and Mugal architecture.  

The famous temples are Narmadeshwar Mahadev temple , this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva . 

Maharani Pransani Devi wife of Maharaja Sansar Chand II built this temple in 1802. The walls of the temple has beautiful paintings of Ramayana and Mahabharata period.

View of Narmadeshwar Mahadev temple , Sujanpur Tihra .

The temple is constructed in Panchayatana layout which means the main shrine is surrounded by four sub shrines . This temple is situated about 4 Km from the town . 

Holi Festival at Sujanpur Tihra  :-

The famous Holi Festival was first started during 1795 by Maharaja Sansar Chand from Radhakrishnan temple . The specially made gulal in the palace was firsty applied to Radha , Krishna idols and used for Holi celebration between Maharaja and his public . From then the festival is being celebrated continuously  in the  Chaugan . Now  Government Administration has taken the place Maharaja in Holi festival  celebration .

Chhinj Competition :- 

During Holi fair a wrestling competition called Chhinj  is also organised  for the entertainment of public  in which the Wrestlers from Punjab , Haryana and Himachal take part . This event is a great charm for the people . Also other Exhibition and  other cultural activities are organised during the Holi fair . 

Murali Manohar Temple  :- 

Murali Manohar Temple at Sujanpur Tihra is the only Temple in world in which Lord Krishna has hold the flute  in opposite direction rather than normal direction .

Murali Manohar Temple Sujanpur Tihra.

The Murli Manohar Temple was built up by Maharaja Sansar Chand in 1785 in the memory of his Mother . The secret about holding the flute in opposite direction is that  , when the idol of Lord Krishna was being established in the temple then Maharaja Sansar Chand asked questions from  priests regarding Lord Krishna but their reply was not satisfactory . So on this Maharaja Sansar Chand ordered to cut their heads.  On this, the priests remained searching the right answer and couldn't sleep that night . In the morning when priests went to temple they were surprised to see that the Lord Krishna 's idol had been holding the flute in opposite direction where as on previous night it was in the right direction .

So on this mysterious  event they satisfied the King that Lord Krishna 's presence is obviously in the idol . The temple is located opposite to the Chaugan . The Murli Manohar Temple is centre of faith from ancient times and continued till today . 

Gaurishankar Temple :- 

Gaurishankar temple is located in the Fort at a distance of about 4 Km from the Sujanpur Tihra town . This beautiful temple was built by Maharaja Sansar Chand II in the memory of his mother in 1793 A.D.

Sainik school Sujanpur Tihra  :-

View of Sainik school Sujanpur Tihra.

Mr. VK Menon in 1961  the then Diffence Minister of India  initiative to establish a series of Sainik schools in the country as feeder institutions for NDA . In this series during 1974 the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi laid the foundation stone of Sainik school Sujanpur Tihra .  The school is situated on one side of the Chaugan .

The school was completed in 1978 and His excellency Shri Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy  the then President of India inagurated the school on November 2nd 1978 . Since then school is in service of the country and has given many officers to the Indian Army .

Sujanpur Tihra a Beautiful Tourist place :-

When we start our journey from Hamirpur to Kangra via Sujanpur Tihra we come across many beautiful locations  , the river Beas flowing on the side of Sujanpur Tihra town gives many panoramic views  . Many developing sites like  Shivdham in adjoining village Bhaled of Darla  panchayat , Lord Krishna Dham in Tihra and Maharaja Sansar Chand Park we can enjoy . These are the beautiful attractions for the tourists .

When ever we see the Shivalik range of hills and the nature with lush green forest , rivers flowing full of neat and clean water , singing birds , cool and clean fresh air , blue sky and the people of this beautiful Himachal Pradesh our heart says ," How beautiful this wonder land is ? We must stay here to enjoy the beauty of this wonder Land ."

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III , continued , Tourists places of Hamirpur.

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Hamirpur Part III continued

Tourists Places :-

Mahadev  Lord Shiva Temple at Gasota :- 

View of Gasota Mahadev temple district Hamirpur .

Just about 7 Km from Hamirpur town on Hamirpur Jahu road a beautiful village Gasota has an ancient temple of Mahadev Lord Shiva . It is about 33 Km from Jahu . 

The Gasota Mahadev temple site is very beautiful place , the pilgrims from various parts of the state as well as from Punjab , Delhi and Haryana come to visit and to take the blessings of Lord Shiva at Gasota Mahadev temple every year . On Shivratri the temple is fully decorated with flowers and a huge crowds can be seen here .

The history of this temple is related to  Pandvas , as per hear saying Pandavas had spent some time of their exile at this place . They were keeping cows here and during that period draught  brought scarcity of water . The life was very difficult due draught then Bheema hit the ground with his mace ( Gada ) and the water water started flowing . That holy water is still continues flowing even today .

View of holy water Gasota 

How the Lord Shiva  temple came into existence , it is said that in the ancient times once a farmer was plowing his field then some hard thing struck the tip of plough and water started flowing , again when plough  struck that thing mik started flowing , third time the plough again struck that thing then blood came out , on seeing this scene the farmer lost the vision of his eyes .

Lord Shiva Linga at Gasota Mahadev temple .

Then in a dream Lord Shiva appeared to him and said that with the help of villagers  excavate the spot and take Shiva linga out and establish it with rituals at this place after saying   Lord Shiva disappeared . Then the farmer with the help of villagers did all as Lord Shiva had told and established the Shiva Linga at this place and later on this temple was constructed . The farmer regained his lost eyes vision .

The temple from thousands of years has become the centre of faith for all devotees of lord Shiva . The temple management has been managing langar to the devotees who come to the temple for offering prayers before Lord Shiva. A Goshala is being managed by the temple management , people of the area also contribute grass and feed to the cows .So it a very beautiful religious place in the district Hamirpur where thousands of tourists and pilgrims visit .

As per hear saying at this place grazing of cows was a common  so it's name derived Gasota . In the previous years Gasota was famous for its Nalwari fair ( cattle fair )

Shani Dev temple at Lambloo in district Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh :- 

Shani Dev Maharaj temple at Sarli Lambloo.

Another beautiful place to pay your offerings and take blessings of Lord Shani Dev , the deity of justice is Shani Dev temple at Lambloo in district Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh .

View of Shani Dev temple and Panchmukhi Hanuman ji 

The temple is situated near Lambloo in village Sarli on Hamirpur Jahu road at a distance of about 25 Km from Jahu Town and about 11 Km from Hamirpur town district headquarters.

View of Lambloo town 

The temple is managed by trust , on Saturday huge crowd can be seen  taking blessings to Bhagwan Shani Dev. Mustard oil , black cloth , black gram ( Mash ki Dal ) are offered to Maharaj Shani Dev on Saturday to take the blessings of Shani  Maharaj. 

View of Bharo and Panchmukhi Hanuman ji 

In the temple people also  do Tula daan  to please the planets and avoid shani's bad effects and to achieve peace and prosperity in the family and life  . If Shani Dev is prayed with deep heart with devotion , wishes are fulfilled by Bhagwan Shani Dev it has been experienced .

Shani Dev ji Maharaj 

In the Shani Dev temple complex at Sarli Lambloo a giant size sculpture of Panchmukhi Hanuman ji , Baba Bhairo , Shiva Linga and other sculptures of various Deities are  established .  Thousands of people come to visit this holy temple from various parts of the state specially on Saturday .

Maa Jalpa Devi Temple at Awah Devi in district Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh :-

The Gate of Jalpa Devi temple Awah Devi.

It is also one of the famous temples of Adi Shakti Mata Durga situated on the boundary of district Mandi and district Hamirpur . The temple is   existing in district Hamirpur and is about 24 km from Hamirpur town and 15 Km from Sarkaghat town .

The temple is situated on National Highway No 70 Jalandhar - Hamirpur -Sarkaghat - Dharampur - Mandi - Manali National Highway  at a distance of about 24 km from Hamirpur in Awah Devi town on a very beautiful hill .

Jalpa Mata Temple at Awah Devi.

The temple is about 25o years old established here by the king of Kangra . At present the management of the temple is being managed by committee. The temple is situated on a very beautiful location . Mata Jalpa is kul Devi of the surrounding areas. The people from Mandi and Hamirpur always come to pay their offerings and seek the blessings of Mata Jalpa .

Steps to the Temple 

All around the temple the beautiful sculptures of various Deitys have been established. During the Navratris huge crowd can be seen in the temple . The temple committee also manages langar for the pilgrims . 

Panoramic views from temple 

The temple is located on a very beautiful hill at Awah Devi . The hill is considered to be the highest point in district Hamirpur . Your can have panoramic views of district Hamirpur and Kamlah Fort in district Mandi from the temple .