Unapparent Hieron - Aghanjar Mahadev Temple (Khanyara) - A must visit place for spiritual lovers!

   In September 2020, my husband and I moved only to Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) in the midst of this Covid-19 pandemic due to the purpose of his research work. We were blessed to see the real Himachal as a result of less crowds. A few days later,we thought of dining out and headed towards Satyam Family Restaurant on the banks of the nearby Aghanjan River (Khanyara), which is known for quality food at a reasonable rate. It took us about 13 minutes by motorcycle to reach the location of Satyam Family Restaurant from Shyamnagar (Dharamshala) at a distance of 7 km. The manager of the restaurant was very friendly and started talking about his childhood days here in Khanyara and mentioned to us about a river bank temple about 800 meters away from the restaurant.

     Photo Courtesy - Google map

The location of the temple is so beautiful that thoughts can be lost for an hour on a rock in the middle of the Aghanjan river.

       Photo Courtesy - DBS


    Photo Courtesy - Satyajit Sinha

This Shiva temple is very peaceful because there is not much crowd in this place. It is a wonderful place. It is a small temple in the middle of the village hills. There is a river next to the temple which is really beautiful and makes you feel close to nature. You can go from temple to temple to see the lingas inside the cave by the river.Although it was September, the water was freezing. However, once you're accustomed to then it was a great feeling to dip your feet in the water. All in all it is a great and memorable place to go to spiritual lovers like me.

       Photo Courtesy - Satyajit Sinha

Out of curiosity I asked one of the temple monk / sanyaasee (सन्यासी) to tell me more about the history of this temple.

Q:        Prabhu !!! Why this temple is named Sri Aghanjar Mahadev?

Ans:    Shri Aghanjar Mahadev was a temple monk / sanyaasee (सन्यासी) and devotee of Shiva, who lived in a cave near the waterfall and took svaam samaadhi (स्वाम समाधि) here. Since 600 years, an Akhand-jyoti / Unbreakable light (अखंड ज्योति) in his name is burning only by his devotees using forest wood. This Shiv Temple is known by his name.

    Photo Courtesy - Satyajit Sinha

Q:       Why are there so many small idols of Shiva lingas in this temple?

Ans:    Beti !! Because every idol of Shiva linga has a tomb / samadhi (समधी) of a monk / sanyaasee (सन्यासी) who died in this temple.

      Photo Courtesy - Satyajit Sinha

Q:        Did this place have any connection with Mahabharata?

Ans:    Yes !! It is believed that once Arjuna, one of the Pandavas of the Mahabharata, was on his way to the Kailash mountains, Shiva appeared at this place and gave him the gift of victory against the Kauravas. The temple on the bank of the river was the place where Lord Shiva blessed Arjuna. 


    Photo Courtesy - Satyajit Sinha

Q:        Does this place give a night stay for visitors/devotees?

Ans:     No !! This place is only for temple monks / sanyaasee (सन्यासी). Visitors are not allowed after 9pm unless it is necessary. But soon there will be a guest house for visitors near the temple.


     Photo Courtesy - Satyajit Sinha

Q:       What is the most interesting story about this place?

Ans:    This temple was a secret of the outside world. For many years this temple was also called Chipa Mandir (Hidden Temple). Only the villagers knew this place as it was surrounded by dense forests, wild animals and poisonous snakes.

 
Photo Courtesy - Satyajit Sinha

                                                                                    

Distance From ~ 

Mcleordganj :

    Photo Courtesy - Google map 
Khanyara Rd ~ 38 min (14 km) 


Dharamshala:

    Photo Courtesy - Google map 
Khanyara Rd ~19 min ( 7.2 km)


    Photo Courtesy - Google map 
Dharamsala Rd ~ 22 min (9.6 km) 

Kangra :

    Photo Courtesy - Google map 
NH503 ~ 38 min (19 km)


HOW TO REACH Aghanjar Mahadev Temple ~

                 Photo Courtesy - Google map

By Rail ~

There is no railway station near to Khanyara in less than 10 km.

          By Bus ~

Sheela Chownk Bus Stop ~

Dharamsala Rd; Dari; Sheehla; Himachal Pradesh 176215; India
5.2 KM distance  

Dari Bus Stop ~

Dari; Uparli Dar; Himachal Pradesh 176057; India
5.2 KM distance

Sheela Chowk ~

Dharamsala Rd; Dari; Hodal; Himachal Pradesh 176057; India
5.2 KM distance

McLeod Ganj Bus Stop ~

Forsyth Ganj-Mcleod Ganj; McLeod Ganj; Himachal Pradesh 176219; India
5.3 KM distance

By Air Ports ~

Gaggal Airport  ~ 13 km
     
Pathankot Airport  ~ 77 km 
    
Bhuntar Airport  ~ 82 km   

Shimla Airport  ~ 161 km


Tourist Attraction ~

      • Norbulingka Institute.
      • Indru Nag Temple.
      • Slate mines
      • Trans Point, Khadota
      • Small Hydel Projects at Manjhi and Manuni Khad


Some of the Restaurants are ~

      • Satyam Family Restaurant
      • Food by the way
      • Mohli
      • Abu Dhaba 

             


Special thanks to the person for whom we discovered this place at Satyam Family Restaurant and of course my husband for bringing me to this peaceful place.

                                                                                                                       - Article Author DBS 

Comments

  1. Shivam Chaudhary14 March 2021 at 01:30

    Very informative and helpful for those who want to see the real beauty of surroundings of Dharamshala 👌👌👌...and language is very lucid...I am crossing my fingers for upcoming blogs😊🤞 GBU

    ReplyDelete

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