Record 311 deities come for Kullu Dasehra

KULLU, OCTOBER 7

The “Jaleb” (religious procession) of Lord Narsingh was taken out in which palanquins of various deities along with the palanquin of “Chharibardar” (chief caretaker) of Lord Raghunath Maheshwar Singh were carried to encircle the entire Dasehra ground during the ongoing Kullu Dasehra festival here today.

The ritual of “Jaleb” is carried out daily from the second day of the festival till the second last day of the festival known as ‘Mohalla’. It is believed that Lord Narsingh ensures security and safety of the public during the festivities. Every day the deities of different regions participate in Jaleb.

The procession is also known as ‘Raja ki Jaleb’ and the “Chharibardar” participates as a representative of Lord Narsingh. The Jaleb is led by a mare and musical instruments of Lord Narsingh followed by palanquins of deities on both sides of the palanquin of the “Chharibardar”. The ‘kardars’ (caretakers) and ‘devalus’ (volunteers) of the deities dance to the beats of drums.

The Jaleb started at around 4.30 pm from Raja ki Chanani (King’s camp) and went from hospital road to old State Bank park. Then it continued to encircle the entire festival area from behind Kala Kendra and reached back at the Chanani through the Dhalpur Chowk. Seven deities joined the procession with the king’s palanquin. The deities offered flowers to the Jaleb when the procession crossed through their camp temples.

The role played by the kings of Kullu in the ancient times during the Dasehra festival is still practiced by their descendants in the same manner in the traditional way.

The atmosphere in the historic Dhalpur ground looked divine with the arrival of the deities in Dev Mahakumbh Kullu Dasehra festival. The residents and devotees paid obeisance at the camp temple of Lord Raghunath at Dhalpur ground today. The devotees also visited the camp temples of 311 deities that had come so far for the Dasehra festival. A record number of deities have come this time surpassing the previous record of 283 deities last year. Many of the deities have also come uninvited and some were participating in the festival for the first time. The deities were also visiting each other’s camp temples.

The foreign and domestic tourists were overwhelmed to witness the rituals and traditions during the mega event. Many research scholars were also witnessing the uniqueness of the festivities.

The visitors were capturing various moments during the festival in their cameras. Mark, a researcher from Germany, said that he was thrilled to witness the majestic festival. Charlie from Canada said that he had come to witness the Dasehra for the first time.

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