Where God remodeled….

The chronicles from the land of Gandhi and Mahatma Buddha are revolutionary. They take place every day in every corner of it. In the southeastern part of the World sits  INDIA. Since it’s partition in 1947, it has fought many fights inside as well as outside its borders. Therefore , the growth it has seen is for the betterment.Accordingly, it is improving from the  corrections made on the  regular basis . Chamba is the southwestern district of one of its 28 states,  that is

Himachal Pradesh. This part of India lives in its past glory when it was shining in its pre-independence days. Though this year it is listed as one of the backward districts of India. Hence, the blow listed story is of single-minded dedication and resolute.

A temple once known for daily sacrifice of dozens of animals in a remote corner of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh is today a leading light against this practice.

The floor of the Shri Bhalei Mata temple located on a mesmeric crest 3800 feet above sea level at Bhalei is today unsullied by its past.

The temple exhibits an idol that is said to have appeared from the ground about 500 years back. Visited by people from across India and even abroad, the common belief is that the idol perspires and makes wishes come true.

Old timers recall that in the past, the floor of the temple was a swamp of blood as 50 to 100 goats were hacked there every day owing to the religious fancy of the locals and this number multiplied many fold on religious occasions.

Chopping off a goat’s head was accredited to be a thank you gesture for the deity who had answered their prayers. ”The entrance of the temple had blood and skin of the animals strewn all over the place,” says Loki Nand Sharma, the present head priest who is the man behind knocking off the practice of sacrificing animals here.

”The journey was difficult and the destination was blurred. I was studying in Jammu when during Navratri while helping my father in 1979 an old lady came to worship in a palanquin. As she turned away after offering her prayers she passed away transfixed to the ground. Thankfully she did not fall in the swamp of blood all around.”

He further disclosed that among the number of devotees present was Mahamandaleshwar from Dayanand Math in Chamba who raised a voice against the sacrificing of animals and the blood strewn premises of a holy place.

This led to Sharma starting a movement to do away with the practice. “I used to counsel locals against it whenever I came home from Jammu. It was very difficult convincing them to do away with something that was entrenched in their beliefs and they were afraid of the deity getting annoyed. I first suggested that they wet the animal with water and just apply a small cut on its ear. But they did not adhere to it. Then I started taking the animals away from them and locking them up in the store room telling them that the offering has been made by them and they should forget about the animals,”he recalls. By 1982 he was able to put an end to the practice.

Over the years this temple became an example for others to emulate in the entire area and the practice was slowly given up in majority of the other temples as well.

Today, it stands as a major attraction for the tourists visiting the Chamera Dam located nearby. The visitors on seeing the spic and span premises are surprised when they are told about the past when there used to be blood all around. The temple has surely written an important chapter in doing away with a regressive practice.

For the tourists the place has several legends to offer. One of them is that a former King was told by the goddess in his dream that she was in a place called Bhran. He found the idol behind a water body that had appeared in his dream. But he could not take the idol back to Chamba because it became very heavy once he halted at Bhalei.

It is also believed that the son of Maharaja Pratap of Chamba came to take the idol to his capital but had to return it because he went blind while he was crossing the river Ravi with it on his way back.

More recent is the tale of thieves stealing the idol in 1973 but having to leave it near the river where it was found by the police. It is said that the idol started ‘perspiring’ when attempts were made to take it to the Police Station for legal formalities. This was interpret as reluctance of the goddess.

Earlier women were not allowed to enter the temple but the practice ended in 1957 with a Gram Sevika Durga Devi being the first one to enter it. There is a tale of a woman from the royal family going blind when she tried to see the idol before. There is a silver shield to support the story with her apologies written on it.

Like several other places there are various myths and tales woven around this temple also. But it is practice of shunning animal sacrifice that has made it more popular in the modern era.

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