This is a 500 years old temple, namely Hidimbi Devi Temple, also known
variously as the Hadimba Temple, is located in Manāli, a hill station in
the State of Himāchal Pradesh in north India.
It is an ancient cave
temple dedicated to Hidimbi Devi, sister of Hidimba, who was a character
in the Indian epic, Mahābhārata. The temple is surrounded by a cedar
forest at the foot of the Himālayas.
The sanctuary is built over a huge
rock jutting out of the ground, which was worshiped as an image of the
deity. The structure was built in 1553. The Hidimbi Devi Temple has
intricately carved wooden doors and a 24 meters tall wooden “shikhar” or
tower above the sanctuary. The tower consists of three square roofs
covered with timber tiles and a fourth brass cone-shaped roof at the
top. The earth goddess Durga forms the theme of the main door carvings.
The temple base is made out of whitewashed, mud-covered stonework. An
enormous rock occupies the inside of the temple, only a 7.5 cm (3 inch)
tall brass image representing goddess Hidimbi Devi. A rope hangs down in
front of the rock, and according to a legend,in bygone days religious
zealots would tie the hands of “sinners” by the rope and then swing them
against the rock. About 70 metres away from the temple, there is a
shrine dedicated to Goddess Hidimbi’s son, Ghatotkacha who was born
after she married Bhima. The most surprising feature of the temple or
what believers could call the most reassuring feature of the temple is
the fact that inside the temple the imprint of the feet of the Goddess
carved on a block of stone are worshipped.
