An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu , Brief History of Kullu Part IV Continued

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu , Brief History of Kullu Part IV Continued. :-

The holy land of Kullu has connected to ancient times   legends associated  with Pandavas who are believed to have spent their exile period  partly in this beautiful valley .

Shangchool Mahadev temple Sainj   district Kullu 

Hadimba Devi Temple Manali 

The Mata Hadimba Devi Temple at Manali , Shangchool. Mahadev temple in Sainj and Dev Dhank in Nirmand are connected with Pandavas . 

Dev Dhank in Nirmand 

According to one legend , Bhimsen the son of Kunti   wife of Pandu killed the strong and cruel demon Hadimb and married to his sister Hadimba .

Mata Hadimba is a powerful Diety of Manali  , Hadimba Devi Temple is situated in Manali  just adjoining to Dhungari Van Vihar at Manali .

Ghatotkach a brave son of Bhim and Hadimba showed  unparalleled  heroism  and velour in the battle of Mahabharata .

According to one another legend Arjun the great Dhanurdhari done austerity in a cave called Arjun Guffa in  Inderkilla mountain now known as Deo Tibba  to get Pashupati Astra from Indra  on the advice of Maharishi Ved Vayas .

Deo Tibba Trek 

The great sage Ved Vayas has performed tappa  in Mahabharata period in the valley now known as Vyas Kund on Rohtang pass . It is because of this that  river Beas has gained it's name from Vipasha to Beas ..

View of Apple Orchard in Kullu Valley 

River Beas in Manali  under Fresh Snowfall 

These are some historical  facts that connects this valley  with the ancient history .

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu , Brief History of Kullu Part - III Continued

  An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu , Brief History of Kullu Part - III continued  :-

In the previous post part II we have discussed about documented history of Kullu ,  in this post  the mythological history  of Kullu will be highlighted .

View of Manu Temple at Manali .

According to legend " Manu "the great Hindu Lawgiver first stepped on the earth from the celestial boat at a place in this land  after the great deluge , the particular place where " Manu " established his abode  known as  " Manu- Alaya " the home of 'Manu ' is present Manali , the changed name of  " Manu -Alaya  ". A temple dedicated to " Manu " is still  existing in Manali village ..It is believed that  the human race  came into being  after the great deluge .

Bhagwan Parshuram  is regarded as one of the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu  is believed to be inhabited in the valley .

View of Bhagwan Parshuram Ji Temple at Nirmand district Kullu  Himachal Pradesh 

Bhagwan Parshuram Ji Temple at Nirmand is a living testimony of This mythological history .

If we take Ramayana period  then we will find that Maharishi Shringi  who had accomplished the Putreshti Yagya  organized by Maharaja Dashrath  the King of Ayodhya after which Lord Rama , Bharat , Shatrughan and Lakshman had born ,  had his abode near Banjar  in district Kullu .

Maharishi Shringi Temple Banjar district Kullu Himachal Pradesh .

The source of Beas river are Beas Rishi & Beas Kund  , the Beas Rishi which 

is the austerity Place of Maharshi Ved Beas . Beas is on the right of Rohtang Pass and the Beas Kund is to the South of Beas Rishi flows as separate streams and meet together at village Plachan another 10 Km North of Manali and forms the river Beas. 

      

The ancient name of river Beas was " Arjiki " . According to an ancient history it said that there was enmity between Maharshi Vashishtha and Maharshi Vishwamitra, at one time Maharshi vishwamitra killed hundred sons of Maharshi vashishtha  , so on this Maharshi vashishtha suffered a deep physical and mental pain and he tied himself with ropes and jumped into the river Arjiki. It is said that the river Arjiki got him out after removing the ropes, the place is known as village Vashisht. Since the river broken the ropes of Maharshi vashishtha and got him out of water it's named "Vipasha " means one who broken the ties (Bandhan) 

               Mid- Himalayas near Manali

So till Mahabharat -age the river was being called Vipasha. The Maharshi Ved Beas the great thinker and writer  had mediation at the holy place and later on the river was named after his name river "Beas " . 

                         View of Beas river

The river flows through the world famous tourist place Manali which is situated on the right bank of Beas traverses through beautiful evergreen forests reaches Kullu.

As per mythological belief it is believed that  Jamlu Dev , the powerful deity of Malana  was once crossing the Chandarkhani pass with a basket  Full of God's , on the top of pass he opened  those god's  then a strong breeze  started blowing  and all the gods dispersed to their present locations in the valley . Thus Kull is called valley of  God's .

Jamlu Dev temple  Malana district Kullu Himachal Pradesh 

View of Village Malana district Kullu Himachal Pradesh 

Sun Set Scenic Beauty , Romantic , Inspirational and Peace Loving

 Sun Set Scenic Beauty,  Romantic , Inspirational and Peace Loving :- 

 The Sun rises and sets every day. The Sun set  atmosphere  is completely  romantic and  beautiful like sun rise . The beautiful redness appears on the horizon just before sun appears.

Every living being welcomes the raising sun as it brings the moments of life to the nature .

Like wise the rising sun , the Sun set  almost beings the same colour full scenic beauty with a  difference that the rising sun brings us light ,  heat and energy to do daily activities  where as setting sun  brings us  coolness  , darkness and preparedness to get rest and sleep  thus make us ready for watching the next day rising sun .

The Sun set  and sun rise  both moments are very beautiful and we must share some moments watching these moments .

Sun set makes us   to enjoy for the following reasons :- 

1. Makes us to release stress . When we watch sun Set   it's colour full designs , cool cool Breeze , colours of nature and chirping birds at the time of sun set   it releases our stress of the day . Thus it is better doctor for us to attain sound health .

2. It gives us the reason to come out of room and get mixed with nature which is life .

3. It inspires us to describe the colours of nature . Poets describe the evening moments .

4. It makes us feel and express gratitude to nature and God for such beautiful memories .

5. It slows down the time , the sun set 's warm colours hold the power to stop for  some time and watch these beautiful memories  and captured in your  cell phone .

Spend some time in watching these moments of sun set .

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu , Part II ,Brief History of Kullu Continued. .

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu , Part II, Brief History of Kullu Continued  :-

Nagar Castle Kullu 

Capital of Kullu at one time 

The documented history up to 1450 AD is that Pal  dynasty ruled the kingdom . The next 50 years from 1450 AD to 1500 AD does not appear in the documented history . 

In this period it appears that Thakurs and Ranas might have captured  the power in this region .

View of Raghunath temple Kullu 

In 1500 AD Sidh Singh became the Raja of Kullu  , the first Raja of Singh dynasty . As per folklore Devi Hadimba granted the kingdom to Raja Sidh Singh . Devi Hadimba is is considered as Patron Diety   and grandmother of the Royal dynasty till today . 

Raha Rupi Mehal Kullu 

Raja Jagat Singh ruled Kullu from 1637 AD to 1672 AD. He incorporated Lag in Kullu State . The capital of Kullu was Jagat sukh  from where the state is ruled for twelve generations . Raja Visudh Pal transferred the capital to Nagar and later Raja Jagat Singh transferred it to Sultanpur .

Once a Brahmin cursed Raja Jagat Singh  then to remove the curse Raja Jagat Singh brought the idol of Raghunath from Ayodhya and put it on Throne . Then he declared himself as the first sarvent of the temple  . Since then   The Rahas of Kullu ruled the state in the name of Raghunath  who is the principal Diety of Kullu Valley .   

View of Nagar castle Kullu 

During the rule of Mughals  the Kullu was subjected  to the suzerainty of Mughals and were paying the tribute to Mughal Empire .

The boundaries of Kullu state  in 1672 AD  were extended   upto river Satluj in South and outer Saraj  the present Nirmand and Ani became part of Kullu along Jagaatkhana, Brao and  Luhri  on right bank of river Satluj were defining boundaries .

Krishna Temple Naggar Kullu 

Under the regime of Raja Man Singh the Upper Lahaul in the North and up to Shimla in South became territorial part of Kullu . 

When the Mughal Empire came to an end around about 1800 A D  Kullu state started paying tribute to Gurkhas and Raja Sansar Chand Raja of Kangra . During 1839  Raja Ajit Singh  lost Kullu and came under The control of Sikhs  . In 1846 the Kullu came under British Empire  as a part of Kangra district.   Thus  Kullu and Lahaul Spiti  became sub divisions of Kangra under the control of Assistant Commissioner  .

Beautiful View of Kullu  Town Bank of Beas river 

Thakur Singh was given  sovereign power with in the Jagir of Rupi  by the British and in 1852 to his  Gain Singh was given title of Rai instead of Raja .

In 1963 Kullu was made district of Punjab and on 1st November 1966 Punjab reorganization took place and Kullu became district of Himachal Pradesh .

Raghunath temple Manikaran 

This is a brief history of Kullu and  light on Mythological history will be covered in next Post . 

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu Part - II , Brief History of district Kullu .

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu Part - II ,Brief History of district Kullu  :-  

View of Kullu Town 

History of district Kullu   can be studied  one documented history and secondly  Mythological history . Let us know about the documented history of Kullu in first phase . 

On first November 1966 The re organization of Punjab Act Was passed  by the Government of India and the hilly areas of Punjab were merged in Himachal Pradesh , thus Kangra , Hamirpur , Una and Kullu districts came into existence on 1st  November 1966.

View of Manali under snow fall 

As per historical references like inscriptions on the coins , references of travellers  the history of Kullu has been traced about 2000 years back .

As per speculations

 the word Kullu might have been derived from word " Kuluta "

View of Kullu valley 

The word Kuluta was found inscribed on the coin from the first century AD . On that coin the inscription   is  " Virayasa  , King of Kuluta ." The first Raja of Kuluta was Virayasa  .

The Chinese trevelar scholar Hiuen Tsang  is believed to have been described Kullu  as Kiu - lu- to  situated at 117 miles  to the North East of Jalandhar .

The track has also been referred toas " Kulantapitha , which translates to " the  territory which marks the end Kula which means the end of the habitable world .

According to the known history of Kullu  the kingdom of Kullu was founded in the first century AD by Raja Behangamani Pal who is speculated to hav come from Paryag  Alahabad .

The people of Kullu were under the regime of Thakurs of Spiti  at that period  Raja Behangamani Pal overthrew the regime of Thakurs and established his Kingdom in first century AD. Thus first ruling dynasty of Kullu .

Rajas of Pal dynasty ruled the Kullu till about 1450 AD and Raja Kelas Pal was the last in that line .

View of  Atal Tunnel Portal 

An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu Part I

 An Overview of Himachal Pradesh district Kullu - Part I 

Kullu District  :-

Kullu is a very beautiful district of Himachal Pradesh  which shares it's boundaries with Rampur area of Shimla district in South ,  Lahaul and Spiti district in  to the North East and Kangra and Mandi districts in West .

The Kashmir valley , Kangra and Kullu valley is situated in Himachal division of Himalayas . It is also called Lesser Himalayas .

The Mall Manali 

At one time Lahaul 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 district Kangra .

District Kullu came into existence on November 1st. 1966 as per Punjab Re organization Act 1966  .

Beautiful View of Kullu Valley 

Kullu valley is the largest valley in this mountainous district . The Kullu valley follows  the course of river Beas ranging  from an altitude of 833 metres above mean sea level at Aut and 3330 metres above mean sea level  at Atal Tunnel  South Portal below Rohtang pass .

Beautiful view of snowfall in Kullu 

The Kullu district headquarters is situated on the right side of the Beas river  . The tributaries of Beas are Parvati , Tirthan and Sainj rivers .

View of Parvati River Near Kasol 

Tehsils of district Kullu :- 

District Kullu is having following Tehsils  :- 

1. Kullu .

2. Manali 

3.Banjar 

4. Anni 

5.Nirmand 

6.Bhuntar 

Nither , Sainj and Jari are sub Tehsils in the district .

The total area of district Kullu is 5503 square Kilometres .

Beautiful pictures of Kullu Manali under snow 

Development Blocks in Kullu  : -

The district Kullu has been divided into following Development Blocks to facilitate development works , Block Development Officer is the controlling Officer of the Block . :-

1. Development Block Ani 

2. Development Block Banjar 

3. Development Block Kullu 

4. Development Block Naggar 

5. Development Block Nirmand 

6. Development Block Bhuntar 

Economy of the District :- 

The economy of Kullu district mainly based on Agriculture , Horticulture , Tourism and traditional handicrafts .

Tourism in this valley is the major activity throughout the year .

Snow covered Orchard 

The district is having a very  panoramic landscapes ,  charming climates  with lush green forests and snow claded mountains that imparts immense beauty to the district Kullu .