Manali
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Manali (मनाली) is a resort town in the Kullu district nestled in the mountains of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Variants
Location
Manali is located in the Kullu district, about 270 km north of the state capital, Shimla, 309 km north east of Chandigarh and 544 km northeast of Delhi, the national capital.
History
The small town is the beginning of an ancient trade route to Ladakh and from there over the Karakoram Pass on to Yarkand and Khotan in the Tarim Basin. It is a popular tourist destination and serves as the gateway to Lahaul and Spiti district as well as Leh.
Manali is named after the Sanatan Hindu lawgiver Manu. The name Manali is regarded as the derivative of 'Manu-Alaya' which literally means 'the abode of Manu'. Legend has it that sage Manu stepped off his ark in Manali to recreate human life after a great flood had deluged the world. Manali lies in the North of Kullu Valley. The valley is often referred to as the 'Valley of the Gods'. Old Manali village has an ancient temple dedicated to sage Manu.
Hidimba Temple, locally known as Dhungari Temple,[1] is located in Manāli. It is an ancient cave temple dedicated to Hidimbi, wife of Bhima Pandava. The temple is surrounded by a cedar forest called Dhungiri Van Vihar at the foot of the Himālayas. The sanctuary is built over a huge rock jutting out of the ground which was worshiped as an image of the deity. The structure was built in 1553 by Maharaja Bahadur Singh. [2]
In Mahabharata
The Indian epic Mahabharata narrates that the Pāndavas stayed in Himachal during their exile. In Manali, Hidimb (brother of Hidimba), attacked them. Bhima killed him. Bhima and Hidimb's sister, Hidimba, then got married and had a son, Ghatotkacha. When Bhima and his brothers returned from exile, Hidimbi did not accompany him, but stayed back and did tapasyā (a combination of meditation, prayer, and penance) so as to eventually attain the status of a goddess.
मनाली
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[3] ने लेख किया है ...मनाली हि.प्र., (AS, p.710) : स्थानीय किवदंती में स्थान का नाम मनु से संबंधित कहा जाता है. मनुरिखी या मनु ऋषि का प्राचीन मंदिर गांव के बीच में है. यह काष्ठ निर्मित है. महाभारत में वर्णित हिडिंबा दानवी का स्थान भी मनाली में माना जाता है. इसके नाम से प्रसिद्ध मंदिर मनाली से कुछ दूर एक विजनबन में बना हुआ है. यह मंदिर भी लकड़ी का बना है और साथ मंजिला है. (हिडिंबा के संबंध में अन्य किंवदंती के लिए देखें बिजनौर).