Hidimba Devi Temple
Hidimbi Devi Temple is also famous with the name Hadimba Temple, which is situated in Manali, a hill station in the State of Himachal Pradesh in north India. People say it is an ancient and old cave temple dedicated to Hidimbi Devi, who was the wife of Bhima, a famous figure in the Indian epic Mahabharata. The temple is surrounded by a dense forest at the foot of the Himalayas. The sanctuary is over a haven hillock in the ground which was worshiped as an image of the deity. The structure was constructed in 1553 by Maharaja Bahadur Singh.
How
To Reach:
By Air: 32 KM from Kullu Airport
By Train: Around 50 KM from Ahju Railway
Station
By Road: Few Minuit
Distance from Old Manali
History
Devi temple is surrounded around a cave where
Hidimba performed meditation for a long time. Devi Hidimba lived there with her
brother Hidimb, and their parents are not much popular. The siblings were born
into a Rakshas family, Hidimba took a
vow to marry one, who would defeat her brother Hidimb and supposed to be very
brave and fearless. The Epic Mahabharata states that the Pandavas stayed in
Himachal during their exile. And during their exile, when they visited Manali;
Bhima, one of the five Pandavas, killed Hidimb, who was the brother of Hidimba.
Thereafter, Hidimba married Bhima and gave birth to their son ‘Ghatotkacha’. They
had a son whom they named Ghatotkacha. However, when Bhima and his brothers
returned from exile, Hidimba did not accompany them and decided to stay back to
perform a tough penance to attain the status of a goddess in the end.
