Tales from Baijnath

“There are moments which mark your life. Moments when you realise that nothing will ever be the same. And now on, time is divided into two parts, before this, and after this.”  Baijnath

I don’t know whose words are the ones I shared above, but I know they are true. My life is divided into two as well; Before, and after the blog was born. Before, and after wanderlust happened. Before, and after I fell in love…with the Himalayas. These huge snow clad mountains reciprocate my admiration for them by conspiring to bring me back to their lap, again and again. What else it could be that without a plan, without a travel buddy and sometimes without a reserved ticket, I’ve managed to get to them? Like I did last month.

Himachal Pradesh has not been my preferred destination for a weekend getaway, for the sole reason that I thought it requires more than a weekend, given the travel time of 12 hours from Delhi. But, when the Himalayas call, one has to just give in and let logic rest in peace. A visit to Himachal Pradesh, facilitated by  Travel Correspondents and Bloggers Group suddenly became the highlight of a very boring week that would have gone down memory lane as the one I forgot. Blame it to deadlines and code-reviews.

We were hosted by Himachal Heritage Village, Palampur for the weekend. While I will come to Palampur in another post, this one is dedicated to a historic old town nearby. Midway between Kangra and Mandi is the rustic town of Baijnath famous for it’s 13th Century Shiva Temple, which shares it’s name with the town. We drove from Palampur to Baijnath, trying to catch a glimpse of the snow clad Dhauladhar range from each bend of the mountain road. Just when we reached Baijnath, the sky cleared and we were staring at a view which seemed like a pretty picture postcard.

While at Baijnath, one just can’t miss the Baijnath Temple that the town is famous for. Though I am not someone who is interested in religious destinations, I make an exception every time there is something more to it than just religion. Sometimes it is a trek, sometimes a legend or a story, sometimes the architecture and sometimes just plain curiosity that drives the decision to include a religious place in the itinerary. Baijnath Temple intrigued me with the legend associated with it as well as with the town.

This Shiva Temple has a very interesting story that dates back to the time Ravana, the king of Lanka visited the town. It is believed that he had set up base at Mt Kailasha in order to worship Shiva. Ravana offered his ten heads to please the deity which could get him to the path of becoming immortal. Pleased with his devotion and dedication, Lord Shiva gave him what he wanted. But that wasn’t enough for Ravana and he pleaded for him to come to Lanka, the land of gold. Shiva agreed, and turned himself into a Shivlinga so Ravana could carry him home. There was just one condition, that the Shivlinga should not be placed on the ground for the entire journey. At Baijnath, to answer nature’s call, Ravana handed over the Shivlinga to a shepherd, who placed it where the temple stands today. Some believe that the shepherd was an incarnation of one of the Gods, who didn’t want Ravana to succeed in his mission, as it would have got him immeasurable power.

The town of Baijnath is known for these legends and the temple which is truly a live story in itself. People of Baijnath don’t celebrate Dussehra in honour of Ravana, who they believe was a great devotee and because of whom, the temple is where it is today. They believe that their sacred town is remembered in history because of Ravana. So, instead of celebrating victory of Lord Rama over Ravana and burning his effigy, they remember Ravana as a man of great knowledge and devotion, who gave them their faith and their temple.

Baijnath Temple is sure a work of art and it seems to be a perfect setting to get an amazing view of the mighty Dhauladhars. The melody of the temple bells add another dimension to the charm of nature that envelops it. I was lucky to visit at a time when the temple didn’t have many devotees around, and I got my moments of solitude in this Himalayan abode of Lord Shiva. Had it been crowded, it would have lost it’s charm for me.

Interestingly, there are no goldsmiths in the town of Baijnath and this again roots back to the same old legend. Ravana, the king of Lanka which was the city of gold wanted to take Shiva along to Lanka, but for Shiva, gold was as good as stone. And since Ravana had to leave Shiva behind at Baijnath, the city is devoid of goldsmiths, to honor Shiva’s wish. It is believed that gold might bring bad luck and Shiva’s anger upon the town.

Stories always make beautiful memories to bring back home after travels. But, apart from these interesting tales, the panoramic views of snow clad higher ranges of the Himalayas were the highlight of Baijnath for me. I could have stared at them the entire day!

As always, I didn’t want to come back home to deadlines, office-politics, pollution and real life. Instead, I was contemplating a way I could stay in the lap of Himalayas forever. Okay, maybe till the time an ocean called me. Or a forest. Or a lake. You get the drift!