Shri Bajreshwari Devi Temple

The Kangra town, known to the ancients as Nagarkot, is the seat of Shri Bajreshwari Devi. Mr. F.
Cunningham's District Gazetteer of Kangra has the following account of the Bajreshwari temple in
kangra "'The temple of Bajreshwari or Vagreshwari Devi at Kangra is - perhaps the most famous in
this district. It is said to have been founded by the divinity of that name at a famous Ashwamedh or
horse sacrifice, which was held on the spot. The famous Mehmood of Ghazni is said to have invaded
the district and destroyed the temple, building a mosque on its ruins It was, however, restored and is
said to have been visited by Akbar together with his celebrated Diwan Todar Mal. There are some
temples in the vicinity which, are, said to have owed their origin to Todar Mal. Finally, Maharaja
Ranjit Singh visited and under his orders the domes of the temples here and at Jawalamukhi were
gilded. Subsequently devotees from Amritsar subscribed together and presented the temple with
marble floor." Through the main temple was ravaged by foreign invader and flattened by the 1905
earthquake, it has since been restored to its pristine glory. At Kangra, one can also visit the
historical Kangra Fort, the `Gupta Ganga Kshetra' and also trek up to Jyanti Devi temple situated
on a hillock to the West of Kangra. There is a beautiful Jain temple near the Fort. Kangra is 20 km
from Dharamshala

Jawalamukhi Temple

Famous temple of goddess Jawalamukhi also called the “Flaming Goddess” or “She of the flaming
mouth”.It lies in the valley of Beas and is built over some natural jets of combustible gas believed to be
a manifestation of the goddess Devi Bhagwati Jawalamukhi. A legend avers that the flames proceed
from the mouth of demon Jalandhara, the Daitya King whom Shiva over-whelmed with mountains. 
 The temple building is modern whose dome is of gilt, gold and pinacles and possesses a beautiful
folding door of silver plates, presented by the Sikh Raja Kharak Singh, which so struck Lord Hardinge
that he had a model made of it. Many people, especially women take a vow that if anything they
ardently wish for, is obtained, they will go on pilgrimage to the temple here. Beautiful songs in praise
of the goddess are sung by the women on way to the temple. On the backside of the temple water runs
along a water-course which takes off from a spring high above. Some say this canal was constructed by
Emperor Akbar to try to quench the flames. The attempt having proved abortive, he became a devotee
of the Goddess. The song popularly sung in praise of the Goddess describes how the Mughal Emperor
came barefooted and placed a crown of gold before the Goddess as offering. That crown is still
preserved and it is said, it was turned into copper as soon as the Emperor looked back in pride and
thought of costly present he had made. The interior of temple consists of a square pit about three feet
deep with a pathway all round. In the middle, the rock is slightly hollowed out about the principal
fissure and on applying a light the gas bursts into flames. The gas escapes at several other points from
the crevices of the walls of the pit. There is no idol of any kind, the flaming Fissure being considered as
the fiery mouth of Goddess. There is the Gorakh Dibbi,
Chaturbhuj Temple and a host of other smaller shrine at
Jawalamukhi town.

Masrur Temple
Masrur is 32 km from Kangra on Nagrota Surian link road and
is famous for remarkable group of rock cut temples. They form a group of 15 monolithic rock cut
temples in the Indo Aryan style and are richly carved. These richly ornamented cave temples are the
only rock shrines in the northern part of India.The main shrine contains three stone images of Ram
laxman and Sita but the presence of the figure of Shiva in the centre of the lintel affords a strong
presumption that the temple was originally dedicated to Mahadeva. Before dealing with the questions
of its builders and the time of its construction, it is important to discuss the rock-cut technique and the
place this temple-complex occupies among the rockhewn monuments in India. The rock-cut style
started in the reign of the Pallava king Narsingha varman I Mahamalla (630-668 A.D.) during the first
half of the seventh century .   It reached its climax in the Kailasha temples at Ellora which were taken
in hand during the reign of the Rashtrakuta King Dantidurga (753- 756 A.D.) and finished during that
of Krishna I (758-773 A.D.). Though rock-cut caves are common in South India, yet temples cut out of
freestanding rocks, known to archaeologists and art critics, are only four in number-'Rathas of
Mammalapuram', 'Kailashas at Ellora', 'temple-complex at Masrur in Kangra' and the 'Dharmnatha
temple at Dhamnar', 65 miles to the South-East of Jhalra Patan in Rajasthan. The Rathas and the
Kailashas are built in the Dravidian style, whereas the Masrur and Dhamnar ones are in the Nagara
style. Masrur beats its Nagara rival in situation, size and execution. The Masrur complex has 15
temples, the Dhamnar has onl y 8. At Masrur temples not separate from it surround the central shrine,
but at Dhamnar the smaller ones are entirely separate from the main one. Carvings and ornamentation
at Masrur are of a much superior order than at Dhamnar and the length of the latter is one- third of the
former. The Dhamnar group has been built in a pit-like hollow, whereas the Masrur group is on top of
a 2500 feet high hill range. One looks below, the other looks up. One depresses, the other elates. In
point of situation, Masrur beats the other two also. Ellora Kailasha are built in a pit a hundred  feet.
However, Kailasha at Ellora is a supreme creation, one of the wonders of the world.  

Rock-cut style is much more difficult than the structural one. In the latter, the artist shapes the
material as he likes, whereas in the former the Material determines the way the artist should move.
The limitation makes an artist creation out of a rock a most difficult task and the ability with which
the remote artist of seventh and eighth centuries carried out their purpose is superhuman.  Only a
few of the original shikharas stand and some of the most beautifully carved panels are now in the
state museum, Shimla. The main shrine dominates the centre. Although the remote location of these
temples protected them from the invading army of Mahmud Ghazni and their stone construction
prevented severe damage in the 1905 earthquake. 

Chamunda Devi Temple

15km from Dharamsala Chamunda Devi Temple is situated on the banks of the Baner River. It is also
a pretty picnic spot with a good view of the mountains, the Baner Khad and the Pathiar and Lahl
forests. The temple is dedicated to goddess Kali in her
wrathful avatar Chamunda.

As with so many temples in India, this one too has a legend to

it.
It has to do with the two demons, Chanda and Munda, trying
to harass the goddess Ambika. The duo, followers of the
notorious demon king, Shumbh Nishumbh, once set out for
the Himalayas with their chaturangini army. Upon reaching
here, they saw the devi sitting high up on a peak, smiling to herself. Chanda and Munda then flew their
arrows at her. Furious at this, Ambika knitted her brows and lo! From their folds emerged this
terrifying form of Kali, decked up in a cheetah skin sari (long piece of cloth cleverly draped by Indian
women) and a garland of skulls. Kali fought all the demons singlehandedly and killed Chanda and
Munda. Pleased, Ambika declared that Kali would now be worshipped here as Chamunda – a
compound of Chanda and Munda. That is how the temple is supposed to have come up. The Chamunda
Devi Temple is said to be more than 700 years old. It is a pretty big complex with even a kund (tank)
where devotees take a dip. The idol in the main temple is considered so sacred that even the eyes of
devotees are not allowed to touch upon it; it is kept completely concealed beneath a red cloth. At the
back of the temple is a cave-like scoop where a stone lingam (phallic symbol of Shiva) under a boulder
represents Nandi Keshwar (Shiva). There are several brightly painted figures of gods and goddesses
around the place.