Tracking Heritage: Famous Baijnath Shiva temple gives insight into history of Kangra

Raghav Guleria

Dharamsala, April 7

Overlooking Binwa river, the Baijnath temple stands majestically on a hilltop, providing a panoramic view of the snow-clad Dhauladhar mountains.

A “nagara”-style Hindu temple, built in carved sandstone, this unique temple is in the town of Baijnath in Kangra district and is believed to have been built in the early 13th century (1204 CE) by two local merchants — Ahuka and Manyuka.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as Vaidyanath “the Lord of physicians”. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple houses a Shiva lingam. Images with fine detailing are carved in the walls and in niches on the exterior of the temple.

Baijnath temple is a protected site with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). T Sering Phunchok, Superintending Archaeologist, who heads all ASI monuments in the state, said, “Last year, the conservation of the Shikhar was carried out. It is called pointing wherein the roof joints are repaired with mortar.”

The main hall exhibits two long inscriptions engraved on stone slabs. These are in Sanskrit, written using Sharada script, and local Pahari language in the Takri script. These provide details about the construction of the temple and talk about a temple of Shiva that existed here before the construction of the present-day structure.

Besides praising Shiva, it depicts name of the then ruler Jaya Chandra of present-day Kangra, list of the names of the architects and the names of donor merchants at the time of the construction work. It vividly refers to Nagarakot, the old name for Kangra district.

Numerous idols are carved on the walls of the temple, some of which date prior to the time the present temple was built. The idols are of Ganesha, Harihara (half Vishnu and half Shiva), Kalyanasundara (wedding of the Shiva and Parvati) and one depicting the defeat of “asura” Andhaka by Shiva.

The temple is visited by devotees from across the country as it holds immense significance for them. It is a general belief that this Shiva avatar rids the devotees of their pain and misery.

Dasehra not celebrated here

Legend has it that Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. To attain invincible powers, Ravana decided to worship Lord Shiva in Kailash, where he sacrificed all his 10 heads to please Shiva. Seeing this, Lord Shiva blessed him with invincibility and immortality.

Soon after getting his wishes fulfilled, Ravana requested Lord Shiva to visit Lanka along with him. The God transformed himself into a Shivalinga and asked him to carry it to Lanka without dropping the Shivalinga on the ground. At Baijnath, Ravana committed the mistake while quenching his thirst and as a result, the Shivalinga permanently settled down there in the form of Ardhanarishwar (Lord Shiva in the form of half male and half female). Henceforth, in respect of Ravana’s devotion to Lord Shiva, Dasehra is not celebrated in Baijnath.

While the whole country burns the effigy of Ravana and his clan, Baijnath abstains from this ritual.

The Baijnath Eulogies offer precious clues

“The Baijnath Eulogies”, as these are famously called among archaeologists, have offered precious clues about the times the temple complex was built.

The name “Susarmapuram”, featuring in the eulogies, is identical with the kingdom of Kangra, pointing out that the kings of Kangra have descended from the legendary King Susarman of Trigarta (the old name for Kangra, also cited by Rishi Panini), mentioned in the Mahabharata.

In the second Baijnath Eulogy, Jalandhara and Trigarta are used again in the place of Kangra, ruled by Jaya Chandra. Baijnath, then known as Kiragrama, was administered by Rajanaka Lakshmana Chandra related to the main royal family of Nagarkot. According to some scholars, Kiragrama is believed to be the area occupied by Kiratas who, being nagavanshis, worshipped snakes.

According to scriptures, Shiva had appeared as a tribal Kirata to Arjuna in Mahabharata, challenging him to a fight.

Above all these, while the eulogies list many generations of rulers, the merchant brothers, who commissioned the famous temple as we see it today, are also praised along with four generations before them, the contributions of prominent astrologer and merchant is also listed, and most importantly the names of the architects are glowingly mentioned along with their fathers’ Nayaka and Thoduka! who were specially engaged from Susarmapuram (Kangra) to execute the task.

Historians believe that Sansar Chand, the art-loving ruler of Kangra, had also made additions and renovations to this temple in the late 18th century.