Mani Mahesh Yatra, Om Namah Shivay !
If you are a disciple or devotee of Lord Shiva, Do visit Mani Mahesh ji . Mani Mahesh is a holy place at Bharmour of District Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. You are sure to fall in love with place if you are once a part of Mani Mahesh Yatra. The yatra is conducted in the months of August or September as per the Hindu Calendar. The Mani Mahesh Yatra begins from Shri Krishna- Janmashthami and finishes in Radha-ashthami. Within the span of the 15 days yatra, lakhs of disciples visit this holy place. A majority of the devotees are from Jammu and Kashmir, for their Dynasty’s Lord resides at Mani Mahesh ji.It is an unforgettable adventurous yatra/ journey which includes 12 kilometer of walking crossing many hurdles, small rivulets and a glacier in between the journey. The motor able route from Chamba to Bharmour and then to Hadsar is also not for the weak hearts. Narrow road with sliding zones throughout the journey is mystical as well as enthralling.
My visits
I have taken part in the annual Mani Mahesh Yatra twice. The one which I will mention here is the first one. It was an unforgettable experience of my life. Way back in 2010, some of our friends along with my relatives planned to visit Mani Mahesh ji. It was a big team of around 10 people. Excited to move as always, we packed our bag and started our journey by hiring two vehicles from Bakloh to Hadsar. The distance from Bakloh to Hadsar is {Bakloh to Chamba(70KM) + Chamba to Bharmour (60 KM) + Bharmour to Hadsar (12 KM)} 142 km in total. It is a journey full of turns and hick-ups for not so frequent travelers. We had a stay arrangement at Hadsar, courtesy Vinay Sharma, my friend who was also in the team. From Hadsar we began our on foot journey to Mani Mahesh early in the morning. Our excitement level was on a high. The journey details will need a lot of words and explanation. Cutting short I would like to say, go visit there and feel it by yourself. A wonderful journey with scenic beauties to capture and lot of devotees of Lord Shiva. The journey from Hadsar to Dhanchhow then to Sunnraasi is good as the energy level remains high till then. But after Sunnrasi, the heart begins fading, legs start shaking and the brain starts asking to rest or get back. It is the faith, the courage of fellow people which keep all moving ahead. Our journey was an inspiring one because we were having women devotees in our group and they were fasting, for it was Teej on that day. The people on the way who have arranged langars and stall free of cost for the sake of travelers have their own share for courage of the travelers. They are there to help any one and everyone. It is amazing to observe their selflessness and their service for mankind.
The path to Mani Mahesh Ji
As is visible from the picture above, the path to Mani mahesh ji from Sunnrasi is scintillating. The path is a glacier, which is covered with snow sometimes. In our first trip it wasn’t snow covered, but in the second tour , it had a lot of snow on the route. The oxygen level decreases as it’s the snow point and trees are very few there. The alternate paths, one Bandar Ghati and other the simpler main path. A word of advice here is that Bandar Ghati is though a shortcut, but is a tough way to opt for. Height of 12000 ft. is good enough to beat any one who has been traveling from the last 10 km.
The Mystics of Mani Mahesh ji..
The mystics of Bhole Baba ji are visible at this place Called Mani Mahesh Ji. It is a beautiful lake and the peak of Lord Shiva called “Kailash” there. There are many mystical happenings which the devotees experience at this place. The Things that I visualized reaching at the holy place are:
1) The View of Mani Mahesh Kailash Peak. Its pic is given below. Look at it closely and you can see the face of Bhole Baba in the snow of the peak. It is a real time picture and I clicked it myself. It is said that only a few can see the Kailash peak fully, but I saw a view which people will see only if they are lucky enough.
2) At night around 9:00 pm when we were fell asleep due to fatigue, we heard the Jaikara of devotees and we immediately left our bed and came outside. What we saw is shown in the above two pictures. A mystical light started hovering around the Kailash peak. It was so wonderful that the sound of People enchanting Bhajans and slogans of Lord Shiva seemed to make the light move much faster. The view was tried to be captured by us but pictures like it only were resulted. the light continued to hover around the peak for half an hour and then slowly diminished.
3) In the Morning the Sun seems to come out of the Kailash peak and it comes in such a way that it may be a gem shining over the peak. It is the time when people dig deep and take bath in cold water of the holy lake.
4) The small little part of the peak is always away from snow, any time and every time.
The Belief System of people
The Holy shrine of Mani Mahesh Lake is annually visited by Lakhs of people. No expectations from the government, but all is there is the belief system, the devotion for Lord Shiva. I wandered why are so many people facing hardships and carrying food articles, Gas cylinders, and serving food free of cost to so many devotees and travelers. The reply I got was great. They said, whatever has been given to them by Lord Shiva, they were there to pay it off. They said if they spend some amount of money here, they will get back in multiples from Lord Shiva.
It is the power of Lord Shiva which enables so many devotees to reach at such remote place. Not only during yatra, but trackers track the route in winters too. It is an abode of Lord Shiva and as heard in Childhood, really Shiv ji likes to stay at a place which is calm cool and away from crowd.
Note:- This year, that is 2020, the administration has not allowed any yatra for the pandemic Corona. The local rituals will be made but annual yatra for this year has been called off.