MAHASHIVRATRI FESTIVAL TOUR
Mahashivratri - The Big Night of Lord Shiva Imagine a Phalanx of Gods and Goddesses descending upon one place, in elaborately decorated gurs or Palanquins for a brief period every year and what you get is a town that is charged with an electrifying atmosphere. Come Shivratri hundreds of local deities invited from all over the Mandi district, start arriving in Mandi town admist much fanfare. It's religious fervor at its best.
However during Mahashivratri, even the gods must follow certain rules in Mandi. The Main deity, also known as the Protector of Mandi, is Madho Rao (Lord Vishnu) and it is to him that every arriving deity must first pay obeisance. Next is a meeting with the Raja of Mandi, followed by a visit to the ancient Bhootnath (Lord Shiva) temple. Only then can the visiting deities proceed to their designated places.
The Fair atually begins the day after Mahashivratri and goes on for six days. The mornings are devoted to all things religious ritualistic while the evenings are dedicated to a Plethora of Cultural programme conducted at the Seri Manch.
Mandi Shivaratri Fair is an annual fair that is held for 7 days starting with the Hindu festival of Shivaratri, in the Mandi town.
The Mandi Shivaratri fair is held as per Hindu calendar every year on the Krishna paksha 13th day/ 13th night (breaking fast/'vrata' on 14th after sunrise) of the waning moon in the month of Phalguna that corresponds to February/March as per Gregorian calendar. In view of the large number of Gods and Goddesses that are invited to the festival from its 81 temples, Mandi town has the title of 'Varanasi of the Hills'.
The Mandi festival or fair is particularly famous as the special fair transforms Mandi town into a venue of grand celebration when all Gods and Goddesses, said to be more than 200 deities of the Mandi district assemble here, starting with the day of Shivaratri. Mandi town located on the banks of the Beas River, popularly known as the "cathedral of temples", is one of the oldest towns of Himachal Pradesh with about 81 temples of different Gods and Goddesses in its periphery. There are several legends linked to the celebration of this event. The festival is centered around the protector deity of Mandi "Mado Rai" (Lord Vishnu) and Lord Shiva of the Bhootnath temple in Mandi.
The observance of the fair is marked on the Shivaratri day when the village Gods are carried in palanquins or rathas (chariots by people) to Mandi to pay homage to Madho Rai and the Raja. The Gods and Goddesses of various caste denominations such as Brahmin, Kshatriya carry the deity only by palanquins or on their back. However, some exceptions of carrying them in vehicles by some caste groups have been noted. Thereafter, the fair lasts for seven days. It is an accepted practice that every deity that is brought to the festival (decorated with glittering embroidered drapery) visits Madho Rai temple first to pay obeisance to Lord Vishnu and then proceed to the palace in a colourful procession called the Shoba Yatra known locally as 'Zareb', to honour the ruler (the regent of the Lord Mado Rai) (it is also said that Madho Rai comes out of his temple only once a year on the Shivaratri day and leads the procession and thereafter pay obeisance to Lord Shiva at the Bhootnath temple where the main festival of Shivaratri is held.
The palanquins of the deities are swayed to the drum beats and folk music to indicate their happiness after visiting the temples of Vishnu and Shiva. There is pecking order that is maintained in the sequence of worship by the various deities invited to the fair, based on rank and status. The day after the Shivaratri, on the second day of the fair, a pageant of Gods with folk bands, dancers and devotees (all dressed in their colourful attire) and with lot of fanfare, is held in Paddal, a large open ground at the confluence of the Beas and Suketi rivers. The 200 odd deities that arrive from various shrines around the Mandi town are assigned places at the Paddal grounds as per the pecking order, where the devotees offer worship to all the deities. The pageant is held every day of the festival
One day before the concluding day of the festival at the end of fanfare, music and dance, in the evening, Jagaran (literal meaning "night vigil" a puja or worship throughout the night) is held. On this occasion, a Guru and his disciple proclaim prophesies for the following year. On the last day of the festivities, prayers are chanted and after paying obeisance to Lord Shiva all the deities assembled in Mandi depart to their original abodes. On this occasion, chadars (a form of devotional drapery offering to the God) are offered. It is also an occasion when the head of the State, now a governor, is normally present on the last day and joins the worship and accompanies the pageant. During all these festivities, it is said that Rishi Kamru Nag (local god of rains), the presiding deity of the Maha Shivaratri, after paying his obeisance to Madho Rai moves to the Tarna mata temple at the top of the Tarna hill from where he watches the proceedings of the fair for seven days.
| Arrival: Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi | Langauge: English, Spanish, German, Italian, French |
Highlights
- Visit the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Raj Ghat, Lutyens Delhi, Humayun's Tomb,and Qutub Minar - Delhi
- Nalagarh Fort - Nalagarh
- Visit Maha Shivratri , Mandi
- Witness the Maha shivratri celebrations at Shiva temple
- Explore the Rewalsar town, famous Hindu temple and a Gurdwara
- Taragarh enroute visiting Bir monastery & Vaidyanath Shiva temple at Baijnath
- Visit to Tashijong Monastery
- Visiting Tea gardens in Palampur & Chamunda Devi temple
- Monasteries, Tibetan Norbulingka Institute, and Dalali Lama temple - Dharamshala Golden Templa,Jallainwala bagh and Wagah Border- Amritsar
Tour Itinerary
Day 01 - Arrive Delhi
Connecting flight from various airports to Frankfurt. At noon scheduled flight with Lufthansa to Delhi. Arrival in the midnight and subsequently transfer to your hotel.
Overnight in the Hotel