In the previous post, I shared with information and pictures of the ancient Bhootnath Temple of Lord Shiva in Mandi town. Today, I will be giving you an opportunity to see the glimpse of famous and international Shivratri festival held every year in Mandi near the Bhootnath temple. This fair lasts for seven days and starts on the Shivratri day. This fair is attending by hundreds of local deities and millions of people from across the world.
It was a great experience for me to attend this fair because I never saw such fair before in my life. If anyone wants to get the glimpse of the life of Pahari people then he needs to visit this fair. Local deities (Gods and Goddesses) from the temples situated in or around Mandi are invited to attend this festival and some deities travel for many days to reach this spot. During this festival, we can see the use of traditional musical instruments like Karnal, dhol etc.
Mandi is also known as small Kashi because of the 81 old temple situated here. This festival is believed to be started around 1802 because Mandi King Ishawri Sen was taken prisoner by Kangra ruler Sansar Chand in 1792 and he remained in prison for 12 years till when Gorkhas invaded the Kangra Kingdom to free Raja Ishawri Sen and restored his kingdom.
To thanks the God, he invited all the deities from the nearby area and when all deities reached Mandi town then it was Shivratri. In this way, this festival came to existence and it is still celebrated.
After the end of this festival, the long march of people, police, artists, musicians deities and politicians through the whole city marking the end of this fair. This March is known as Jareb in the local language.
Check some of the Pictures of Mandi Shivratri Festival.