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Religious Beliefs and Practices

Mandi, known as 'Chhoti Kashi', is rich in religious beliefs with over 80 temples dedicated to local deities, primarily worshipping Shiva and Devi. The town celebrates Shivratri with a grand international fair, showcasing traditional dance and music, while locals maintain strong faith in their deities throughout various festivals. The temples and their colorful statues attract visitors, reflecting the region's deep-rooted traditions and vibrant culture.

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12 views2 pages

Religious Beliefs and Practices

Mandi, known as 'Chhoti Kashi', is rich in religious beliefs with over 80 temples dedicated to local deities, primarily worshipping Shiva and Devi. The town celebrates Shivratri with a grand international fair, showcasing traditional dance and music, while locals maintain strong faith in their deities throughout various festivals. The temples and their colorful statues attract visitors, reflecting the region's deep-rooted traditions and vibrant culture.

Uploaded by

fayezathegreat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Religious beliefs and practices

Mandi is called "Chhoti Kashi" as its streets of the town are covered with somewhat over 80
stone built temples that are decorated with religious motifs and fondly live up the title of
"Varanasi of the Hills". It has old palaces, rich traditions and distinct architecture of the temples.

People of Mandi have a strong belief in God and their local deities which they call ‘devta’. Their
religion holds their actions in almost every sphere of life. The worship of Shiva and Devi, are
predominant. Shiva is known in several forms, the commonest of them being the Panchavaktra
or the five-faced Shiva, the Triloknath or the three-faced Shiva, Ardha Nareshwara which is the
half body of Shiva and the other half of Parvati, His consort.The Goddess goes by several
names viz, Sri Vidya, Bala, Kali, Tara, Bagla and Durga. Throughout the district there are
numerous local Gods known as the Devtaas

It is said that, in the ancient times there was a king named Raja Suraj Sen who didn’t have an
heir so he dedicated the State to God Madhav Rao, a form of Vishnu. His successors have thus,
always held it in trust for the God and act as his representatives on various occasions. Since
then, Madhav Rao has become the Guardian deity of the town and people honor him in all the
state occasions.

One such occasion is Shivratri, which is the main festival of Mandi. This nature of the Hindu
pantheon is emphasized when during the Shivratri Fair all the local Gods & Goddesses gather
in the town & pay Honour to Madhav Rao. The magnificence of this festival has reached an
international level. There is a seven-day long international Shivratri fair where the whole town
shines bright with lights and festive decorations. The fair includes star nights where singers and
dancers from all across the world perform with local bands to celebrate Maha Shivratri around
February or March every year.
Nati is a dance form specially performed in the upper hills of Mandi to reverberate with the
sound of traditional music when men and women celebrate Maha Shivratri. The dancers look in
sync with each other and dance gracefully to the tunes of the musicians/bands.

Festive mode of this place continues throughout the year as there are a large number of old
temples with innumerable religious and agrarian festivals to be celebrated. With high spirits and
strong faith in deities, the locals believe in celebrating every festival with the same enthusiasm.
In the Mandi region, the temples of local deities attract the attention of travelers and visitors with
their colorful statues. The external beauty of these statues is striking and their iconography can
reveal the status of featured deities, their membership in the Shiva and Vaishnava lineages,
their relationships, marital status, even names and nature, ranging from a benevolent mildness
to a fierce bloodthirstiness that is satisfied only with regular sacrifices of goats or sheep.

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