Written by Krishna Yadav, the book – Kailash: The Mystic Land of Shiva – deals with the valley of Chamba
Stories of Chamba revolve around the mount Kailash
The book also contains several black and white photographs.
Kailash: The Mystic Land of Shiva is published by Promilla and Co. Publishers and is priced Rs 395.
From the introduction of the book:
From the introduction of the book:
Kailash – the mystical land of Shiva was conquered by Raja Maru Varman from its earlier rulers, the Ranas and Thakurs. Raja Maru Varman called himself a Suryavanshi (of the Sun Dynasty) and a descendant of Lord Rama.
He established his first capital Bharamur in the 6th century AD.
The kingdom comprised of valleys on either side of the river Buddhal, a tributary of the river Ravi, that emanates from the highest peak of the land, Mount Kailash.
The population at that time was scanty and three-quarters of it comprised the Gaddis, Gujjars and Rajputs. They worshipped Lord Shiva and Devi Durga.
They were of the firm belief that the abode of Lord Shiva was at Mount Kailash and that their land was as sacred as Mathura, Varanasi or Haridwar. The termed their land ‘Shiv Bhumi’ in their own language.
No one to date has ever climbed up this holy mountain to see the abode of Lord Shiva expect a Sippy boy, Trilochan, a tailor by profession, who the Lord himself invited to sew his Chola (the Gaddi dress in the form of a long coat).
The route that boy took with the Lord, went across hills and the holy lake situated at the foothills of Mount Kailash.
This narrow trail became the pilgrimage route for devotees to visit Mani Mahesh Lake (Lord Mani Mahesh – Shiva in the Pahari language) twice a year.
People who witnessed the unusual happenings that took place in this sacred land brought them to the notice of others through sayings, legends, folktales, folklores and myths.
However, written documents are almost non-existent.
The second capital was established by the great grandson of Raja Maru Varman, known as Raja Sahil Varman in the 10th century AD. He name the new capital city and the sate after his only daughter Champawati.
The state Chamba, sheltered by its snow-clad mountain barriers had the rare good fortune of escaping the successive onslaughts of Muslim invasions. This was the reason that his hill state, unlike the plains of the Punjab has better preserved old monuments, ancient remains and wealth.
The Varman royal family ruled the state from 6th century AD till 1956, when the feudal royal states were abolished by the national government of independent India.