Prachin Chuha Mandir: 250-year legacy of faith without donation box

The Prachin Chuha Mandir, nestled in Naughara Chowk near Dal Bazaar, stands as a 250-year-old beacon of devotion for residents of Ludhiana. Remarkably, it remains the only temple in the city that does not have a donation box.The temple houses the idol of Thakur Ji (Lord Krishna), along with a distinctive statue of dancing Bala Ji, akin to the one found in Mehandipur Bala Ji, making it a unique spiritual site. Located in the old city area bustling with wholesale garment shops, it draws traders from across India who come to seek blessings while transacting business.

Pandit Rohtash Sharma, the fourth-generation priest at the temple, shared that besides Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman, the temple enshrines Maa Bhagwati, a Shivling, and the Shiv family. Every morning, Thakur Ji is ritually bathed in Panchamrit, a sacred concoction of milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, and sugar, and adorned in fresh garments. Daily garland offerings and decorative rituals continue without fail, and festivals like Shri Krishna Janmashtami, Radhashtami and Hanuman Jayanti are celebrated with immense fervour, drawing large crowds.

Ashok Thapar, President, Naughara Thapar Biradari Mandir Chuhamal, told that his fifth generation has been serving the temple. He was told by his elders that one of the ancestors of Thapar community, Chuha Mal Thapar on whose temple was named lived at the same temple site. Chuha Mal always felt that there was something at this place. He spent many years thinking about this. Then, one day he had a dream that something hidden underneath the land of this place. He got the house excavated and an idol of Thakur ji was found. This idol is four feet tall. Chuha Mal installed the idol of Thakur ji as per rituals. Then, he got a temple built at that place. He donated the entire four hundred yards of land to the temple. The divinity of the idol is that it is same like the idol of Thakur ji installed in Shri Vrindavan Dham.

Thapar said martyr Sukhdev Thapar, whose birthplace is near this temple, alongwith his mother Ralli Devi also used to come to this temple to pay obeisance. This temple is built 400 square yards, a statue of Balaji with open eyes dancing like the statue of Balaji installed in Mehndipur Balaji has also been installed. It is believed that if someone visit temple and receive blessings from Balaji here for seven Tuesdays, every wish of a person can be fulfilled.

Beyond spiritual pursuits, Chuha Mal embodied benevolence. He offered employment to anyone who came to the temple seeking work, encouraging them to open shops nearby. Today, about 10–15 shops stand around the temple grounds, and the rent collected from these sustains temple operations—making donation boxes unnecessary.

Thapar claimed that first Shrimad Bhagwat Katha was also organised at this temple only after partition by then Pandit Magh Raj Vashisth in Ludhiana. Even a police post used to be here in the temple premises. Even when someone's child is lost, or any information was needed to be disseminated to the public, announcement used to be done from this temple only.