Kharshali to Hatkoti – the abode of Mahishasurmardani – in Rohru

The Hatkoti Mata Temple complex

An old pic of Hatkoti Complex - pic credit SDM Jubbal

The Main Dwar  

 Navratri evokes emotions of Bhakti in all of us. It is the celebration of the power of woman. And what could be a better time to share my experience of Devi Hatkoti of Rohru – a unique jewel nestled deep in Himalayas, almost 100 km from Shimla.

I have been living in Shimla since past 7 years but never got an opportunity to go for darshan of Hatkoti Mata; maybe the bulawa (divine calling) had not come. But when a dear friend, Anuradha, wished for a break in the mountains we decided to visit the beautiful Pabbar valley. I had not much knowledge of this valley and nothing about this temple. In my mind I imagined the temple to be a simple one, like of a local deity, as is quite prevalent in Himachal.

                                                                   The entire temple complex 

But as soon as I entered, I was pleasantly surprised at the grandeur of it – the beautiful main dwar, the brass lions, huge courtyard, the intricate carvings – and strong positive energy. I could immediately see that it was an old temple complex rich with mythology and history. Rightly so as I realised that Hatkoti mata is Mahishasurmardini – the devi created by the Tridev – Bramha, Vishnu and Mahesh to kill the asura Mahishasur. The Asura which had the boon that he will not be killed by any man or animal and hence a Devi was created. She killed the asura in this valley after fighting him for 15 days and saved the gods from his wrath.

                          The Brass Lion at the entrance - gifted by Dr K.C. Azad, the father of my colleague Ms Kartik Mrityunjay

    The entrance of the temple and the Paddy fields behind - the trademark of Hatkoti - with Anuradha 

                             

                     The beautiful carved Canopy inside the Temple complex

The uniqueness of the temple is because it is a blend of Shiv and Shakti. There is the Devi temple and a Shiv temple (with intricate carvings and many Lingas). Who built this Shiva temple is not known – maybe during Gupa age (3^rd to 5^th Century) or Adi Shankracharya’s time who was reviving the Hinduism during 8^th century or even later.  It also has 5 ‘Deols’ (temples in varying sizes) - to represent the 5 Pandavas as is believed. Three rock cut edicts are also found in the complex along with Brahmi script (not yet deciphered) next to the main idol. The fifth Khand of Gita also talks about the Hatkoti . The stone and wood carvings are said to be since the Gupta age and have been added upon. To me the temple complex was a beautiful amalgamation of history since ages; though it does not figures in the list of historical monuments provided by Archeological Survey of India. 

                                                  The Shiva Temple                     

                                                        Carving inside the Shiva temple

                                                             Carved idols in the Shiv Temple

                          

                                                 The five Deols - representing five pandavas

But the most fascinating feature is the idol of Hatkoti mata – made in ashtdhatu and decorated beautifully. There is a pull in the idol and you shall want to go on looking at her. She has varying expressions on her face – stern - as she was created to kill – but benevolent too - as she is the protector of the Pabbar valley. The shringar is unique; not seen in most temples of Himachal. 

The main Panditji 

Interestingly there was also a big pot –known as ‘Churu’ - chained with iron chains- outside the main temple. This Churu is associated with many tales. One being that the pot was a devil and the Devi chained him to keep him in control. But the main one being that devi Mahishasurmardani came to Hatkoti sitting in this pot from Kharshali.

This caught my attention and I was told that the main udgam sthan (birth place) of Hatkoti mata is not Hatkoti but Kharshali – a place 20 km away in the mountains deep in the jungles of Rohru – a fact not known to many.

                                 

Now why did the Devi leave her birth place?

The legend says that centuries ago the two villages –Kharshali and Ghazani – were fighting with each other for supremacy over the Devi. The Ghazani village people, in trying to win Devi’s heart, sacrificed a dumb man and a cow in her temple. This angered the Devi so much that her fury resulted in torrential rain and the water paved its way to Pabbar River. There were two copper pots and Devi herself sat in one and floated away. The pots were making whistling sounds which were heard by a pundit and he caught them and brought them to his home. At night the Devi appeared in his dream and asked him to build a temple at Hatkoti for her. 

For ‘Churu’ it is said that both the pots tried to submerge themselves in the Pabbar River during the next rains, the priest however managed to catch one - the other simply floated away. Since than the remaining one is chained though it still tries to run away during monsoons. 

The story caught our imagination and we changed our plans of trekking in the Rohru Mountains and decided to go to the birth place of Devi Hatkoti instead. The landscape started changing as we travelled along the beautiful Pabbar River up the mountains into the dense Devdar forest. We reached the main gate of the complex and saw a small lake surrounded by tall trees and a tiny temple at the far end. It is an open temple with not much decorations or frills; has tribal look, with no regular pandit ji but worshipped with faith.

The entrance to Kharshali Complex has been built recently - eralier it was an open jungle

The Devi lake and the temple at the far end

The Pandava Vriksh - with 5 trunks

Open Temple

With the Forest Guards 

There is a huge Dev-Van next to the temple complex. I had not seen a place so beautiful in Himachal till now; dense Devdar forest amidst meadows – so peaceful - so tranquil - a place fit for meditation and just being one with the nature, absolutely magical. We walked deep in the forest and sat quietly for a while soaking in the positive stillness. The kind of stillness one yearns for - truly divine.

Dev - Vriksh 

Dev-Van

Our visit to the valley became more beautiful because we got to stay at the Mandli Forest Log Hut in Rohru absolutely next to the Pabbar River. The water and the view were breathtaking. 

The Mandli Rest house 

Hatkoti and Kharshali, together, became a divine experience for me- an experience of beauty, mythology and history. Mainly because of the intriguing and mystical story of a woman’s power of taking decision and being strong enough to be an annihilator of evil and a protector of good and divine. Also becoming a mother and giver for the entire Jubbal valley. 

And while we were sitting quietly in the temple at Kharshali, soaking in its magnetic pull - there came many women- of all ages - as a group to pray to the Devi. To me it seemed as if the Devi was endorsing my thoughts of women empowerment as all of them were part of a Self Help Group making and selling many products. All were out of their homes to have a fun day– singing and dancing – clicking pictures and just enjoying the womanhood and sister bonding.The members of Gilhadi Mahila Mandal Jubbal

Jai Mata Hatkoti