You can see this Dussehra in Kullu.
The Kullu Dussehra is deservedly famous, but few know that it is nothing like the festival most of us celebrate. For one, it does not end on Vijay Dashami, but only starts on that day to go on for a week.
It is certainly connected to the legend of Lord Ram’s victory over Ravan, but that event is not central to it. Rather, local lore has shaped the celebration of Dussehra in the Kullu Valley for the last few centuries.
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The Kullu valley’s history goes back thousands of years. In ancient times this region was called Kulanta, which means the end of the habitable world. Of course, it was not the end of the habitable world. Lahaul-Spiti lies beyond it, and after that there’s Tibet. But the people of the plains thought Kullu was too inaccessible and their kings didn’t bother to invade and annex it.
And so, as is the case across most of Himachal Pradesh, the tribes and villages had their own local devtas or gods.
(Watch this video to see more Kullu Dussehra photos)
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Even a thousand years ago, the organised Hindu religion had not made much of an impression in Kullu. But things started changing slowly as Muslim invaders uprooted the Rajput kings in the plains. The Rajputs then tried to win new kingdoms in the hills and so brought the Hinduism of the plains to them.
One of these conquering princes came from the Haridwar region. His name was Behangmani Pal, and he founded the dynasty that ruled Kullu till the Independence of India.
Now, Behangmani did not start the Kullu Dussehra. That honour goes to one of his successors named Raja Jagat Singh, a contemporary of the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Aurangzeb.
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Behangmani Pal used to worship the goddess Kali, and she is the family deity of the Kullu royals to this day. But since he was an outsider in the hills, Behangmani needed to win over the people, for which the best strategy was to win over their gods to his side. And Behangmani did this with a clever story.
If you’ve been to Manali, you would have seen the Hidimba temple there. Now this goddess was widely revered in the hills, and legend says she approached Behangmani in the guise of an old woman while he was walking to attend a fair. She requested him to carry her to the fair, and the young prince agreed to do so happily. He even promised to carry her back from the fair.
Pleased with his kindness, Hidimba assumed her giant form, and told Behangmani to climb on to her back. Then she said all the land as far as he could see from her back was his to rule. This legend sounds like just another myth, but it gave legitimacy to Behangmani’s rule, and his descendants have always revered Hidimba as Dadi or grandmother.
When the raja of Kullu sends out invitations to the village gods on Dussehra, Hidimba’s is worded as a request while the others are like polite royal orders. When Hidimba reaches Kullu from Manali, the raja himself or one of his family representatives receives her on the river bank. After that she goes straight to the palace that the royal family vacates for her stay.
*
Coming to Raja Jagat Singh, who started Kullu Dussehra, he ruled during the years 1637 to 1672. This (2022) is the 350th year of his passing.
When Jagat Singh became king, Vaishnavism or the worship of Vishnu and his avatars Ram and Krishna was not common in the hills. The king himself worshipped Kali while his people had their own multitude of gods. But then something happened that deeply impacted the state religion of Kullu.
There are two versions of this story. In one, the raja coveted a string of rare pearls belonging to a Brahmin. In the other, he coveted the Brahmin’s daughter. In both stories the Brahmin kills himself after cursing the raja that every time he sat down to eat, he would see worms in his food and blood in his drink.
The raja was leading a tortured existence because of the curse when a Vaishnav saint named Bairagi Krishnadas Payahari, arrived in Naggar, which used to be Kullu’s old capital. He told Raja Jagat Singh he would be cured if he could arrange to bring idols of Ram and Sita from Ayodhya’s Tretanath Temple to Kullu.
The Raja sent off Pandit Damodardas Gosain on this mission, and after waiting for a year the Pandit was able to steal the idols. When the idols arrived in the Kullu hills, the raja washed their feet and drank the water or charnamrit, and he was cured.
After this miracle, Raja Jagat Singh became a Vaishnavite, and declared Vaishnavism would be the state religion. He declared that Lord Ram or Raghunathji would be the king of Kullu from then on while he would serve the god as wazir or minister.
Twelve years before his death, Jagat Singh built the Raghunathji Temple in Kullu. And shortly thereafter he started the annual Dussehra festival in Lord Ram’s honour.
*
Just like the Hidimba legend had been Behangmani Pal’s masterstroke, the Raghunathji legend enabled Raja Jagat Singh to tighten his grip over Kullu.
We know that the hill people lived far away from each other in small, independent communities. They honoured nobody more than their local gods. When Jagat Singh declared Lord Ram would be the state god, the position of the village devtas became secondary. It became their duty to come to Kullu and pay homage to Raghunathji on Dussehra. And when the gods bowed before Lord Ram in Kullu, the people who carried them automatically had to bow before Lord Ram’s chief servant, the raja.
So, the Dussehra of Kullu is not just about religion and culture but also politics. It is a stroke of political genius. People of a more independent spirit, such as the natives of Malana, did not want to bow to the king, so their god, Jamlu Devta, refuses to accept the Dussehra invitation to this day.
*
When Raja Jagat Singh built the Raghunathji Temple at its present site, Kullu town was called Sultanpur. It had been important since ancient times as a market. The Dhalpur Maidan, where the Dussehra rath yatra is held, was a meeting ground for traders from Tibet and the plains.
Later, the rajas shifted the capital from Naggar to Sultanpur and built their palace beside the temple. A day before Dussehra, when north India celebrates Ram Navami, the village gods start arriving in Kullu, and head straight for Dhalpur Maidan where they have their allotted camps.
But the day’s most important event takes place at the Raghunathji Temple in Sultanpur. Late in the evening, the idols of Lord Ram and Sita are taken out of the sanctum and placed in a swing for devotees to worship.
*
The next day, Dussehra, begins with the devtas making a beeline for the Raghunathji Temple. While the temple is their first stop, they spend more time at the Rupi Palace nearby, where they are greeted by members of the royal family. The reception at the palace goes on for hours and it is very loud and colourful.
In the afternoon, the idols of Lord Ram and Sita are carried in a palanquin to Dhalpur Maidan for the rath yatra. Not only the ground but also the buildings around it are covered with people eager to catch a glimpse of the event.
But though the wooden chariot in the ground seems ready to move any minute, the rituals and the unruly devtas ensure that the yatra does not begin till almost 5 pm. But when it does, it’s over in the twinkling of an eye.
The police cordon falls apart as the devtas make a mad dash after the chariot, and suddenly the quiet ground becomes a sea of bobbing heads. This is an adrenaline moment, which explains why it has become the abiding image of Kullu Dussehra.
*
For the next four days, there isn’t much to see, unless you care for the cultural events organised every evening in the fairground. The fair itself is mainly an opportunity for the villagers to buy whatever they need, from bangles to automobiles, but it’s unlikely to enthuse big-city dwellers.
The sixth day is again important because that’s when the devtas have their annual meeting with Lord Ram. And on the seventh and last day, the chariot is drawn to the banks of the Beas river, where dry bushes are set ablaze to signify the burning of Ravan’s Lanka. Then the chariot is brought back to Dhalpur Maidan, and Lord Ram and Sita are taken back to their temple in Sultanpur.
The Devtas disperse and the villagers follow in their wake.
Kullu’s week of glory is over.
*
Even a thousand years ago, the organised Hindu religion had not made much of an impression in Kullu. But things started changing slowly as Muslim invaders uprooted the Rajput kings in the plains. The Rajputs then tried to win new kingdoms in the hills and so brought the Hinduism of the plains to them.
One of these conquering princes came from the Haridwar region. His name was Behangmani Pal, and he founded the dynasty that ruled Kullu till the Independence of India.
Now, Behangmani did not start the Kullu Dussehra. That honour goes to one of his successors named Raja Jagat Singh, a contemporary of the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Aurangzeb.
*
Behangmani Pal used to worship the goddess Kali, and she is the family deity of the Kullu royals to this day. But since he was an outsider in the hills, Behangmani needed to win over the people, for which the best strategy was to win over their gods to his side. And Behangmani did this with a clever story.
If you’ve been to Manali, you would have seen the Hidimba temple there. Now this goddess was widely revered in the hills, and legend says she approached Behangmani in the guise of an old woman while he was walking to attend a fair. She requested him to carry her to the fair, and the young prince agreed to do so happily. He even promised to carry her back from the fair.
Pleased with his kindness, Hidimba assumed her giant form, and told Behangmani to climb on to her back. Then she said all the land as far as he could see from her back was his to rule. This legend sounds like just another myth, but it gave legitimacy to Behangmani’s rule, and his descendants have always revered Hidimba as Dadi or grandmother.
When the raja of Kullu sends out invitations to the village gods on Dussehra, Hidimba’s is worded as a request while the others are like polite royal orders. When Hidimba reaches Kullu from Manali, the raja himself or one of his family representatives receives her on the river bank. After that she goes straight to the palace that the royal family vacates for her stay.
*
Coming to Raja Jagat Singh, who started Kullu Dussehra, he ruled during the years 1637 to 1672. This (2022) is the 350th year of his passing.
When Jagat Singh became king, Vaishnavism or the worship of Vishnu and his avatars Ram and Krishna was not common in the hills. The king himself worshipped Kali while his people had their own multitude of gods. But then something happened that deeply impacted the state religion of Kullu.
There are two versions of this story. In one, the raja coveted a string of rare pearls belonging to a Brahmin. In the other, he coveted the Brahmin’s daughter. In both stories the Brahmin kills himself after cursing the raja that every time he sat down to eat, he would see worms in his food and blood in his drink.
The raja was leading a tortured existence because of the curse when a Vaishnav saint named Bairagi Krishnadas Payahari, arrived in Naggar, which used to be Kullu’s old capital. He told Raja Jagat Singh he would be cured if he could arrange to bring idols of Ram and Sita from Ayodhya’s Tretanath Temple to Kullu.
The Raja sent off Pandit Damodardas Gosain on this mission, and after waiting for a year the Pandit was able to steal the idols. When the idols arrived in the Kullu hills, the raja washed their feet and drank the water or charnamrit, and he was cured.
After this miracle, Raja Jagat Singh became a Vaishnavite, and declared Vaishnavism would be the state religion. He declared that Lord Ram or Raghunathji would be the king of Kullu from then on while he would serve the god as wazir or minister.
Twelve years before his death, Jagat Singh built the Raghunathji Temple in Kullu. And shortly thereafter he started the annual Dussehra festival in Lord Ram’s honour.
*
Just like the Hidimba legend had been Behangmani Pal’s masterstroke, the Raghunathji legend enabled Raja Jagat Singh to tighten his grip over Kullu.
We know that the hill people lived far away from each other in small, independent communities. They honoured nobody more than their local gods. When Jagat Singh declared Lord Ram would be the state god, the position of the village devtas became secondary. It became their duty to come to Kullu and pay homage to Raghunathji on Dussehra. And when the gods bowed before Lord Ram in Kullu, the people who carried them automatically had to bow before Lord Ram’s chief servant, the raja.
So, the Dussehra of Kullu is not just about religion and culture but also politics. It is a stroke of political genius. People of a more independent spirit, such as the natives of Malana, did not want to bow to the king, so their god, Jamlu Devta, refuses to accept the Dussehra invitation to this day.
*
When Raja Jagat Singh built the Raghunathji Temple at its present site, Kullu town was called Sultanpur. It had been important since ancient times as a market. The Dhalpur Maidan, where the Dussehra rath yatra is held, was a meeting ground for traders from Tibet and the plains.
Later, the rajas shifted the capital from Naggar to Sultanpur and built their palace beside the temple. A day before Dussehra, when north India celebrates Ram Navami, the village gods start arriving in Kullu, and head straight for Dhalpur Maidan where they have their allotted camps.
But the day’s most important event takes place at the Raghunathji Temple in Sultanpur. Late in the evening, the idols of Lord Ram and Sita are taken out of the sanctum and placed in a swing for devotees to worship.
*
The next day, Dussehra, begins with the devtas making a beeline for the Raghunathji Temple. While the temple is their first stop, they spend more time at the Rupi Palace nearby, where they are greeted by members of the royal family. The reception at the palace goes on for hours and it is very loud and colourful.
In the afternoon, the idols of Lord Ram and Sita are carried in a palanquin to Dhalpur Maidan for the rath yatra. Not only the ground but also the buildings around it are covered with people eager to catch a glimpse of the event.
But though the wooden chariot in the ground seems ready to move any minute, the rituals and the unruly devtas ensure that the yatra does not begin till almost 5 pm. But when it does, it’s over in the twinkling of an eye.
The police cordon falls apart as the devtas make a mad dash after the chariot, and suddenly the quiet ground becomes a sea of bobbing heads. This is an adrenaline moment, which explains why it has become the abiding image of Kullu Dussehra.
*
For the next four days, there isn’t much to see, unless you care for the cultural events organised every evening in the fairground. The fair itself is mainly an opportunity for the villagers to buy whatever they need, from bangles to automobiles, but it’s unlikely to enthuse big-city dwellers.
The sixth day is again important because that’s when the devtas have their annual meeting with Lord Ram. And on the seventh and last day, the chariot is drawn to the banks of the Beas river, where dry bushes are set ablaze to signify the burning of Ravan’s Lanka. Then the chariot is brought back to Dhalpur Maidan, and Lord Ram and Sita are taken back to their temple in Sultanpur.
The Devtas disperse and the villagers follow in their wake.
Kullu’s week of glory is over.
***
