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History - Fairs & Festivals - Religion - Geography - Archaelology |
The district is situated between 31-13-50 and 32-04-30 north latitude and 76-37-20 and 77-23-15 east longitude. It is bounded by Kangra on the north-west, Hamirpur & Bilaspur in the west, Arki tehsil of Solan district in the south, Shimla district in the south-west and Kullu district in the east. |
The district has 2 main rivers viz. the Beas
and the Satluj. The river Beas enters the district from close to Bajaura, at the boundary
of Kullu and leaves the district at Sandhol. The Mandi town is also located on the banks
of this river. For the greater part of it's length, it runs between high banks and as it
is of never great breadth, the current is swift, especially during the rains. |
The greater part of the district is mountanous terrain with the main ranges of maountains running from the north to the south with the system being broken up by innumerable transverse spurs. The most conspicuous is the Jalori range which is crossed by a high road from from Kullu to Shimla by a pass named as Jalori pass. It divides the watersheds of the Satluj and the Beas and on it's northern slopes is unusually well wooded with deodar and blue pine forests of great value. the highest peak in the range is Shikari Devi (11,060 feet), it's summit being crowned by a shrine to a local goddess. The range throws off three main spurs which extend throughout the tract known as the Mandi Saraj. To the north of the Beas is the Nargu range, a continuation of the Bir Bhangal, seperating Mandi from Kullu proper and crossed by the Bhubu pass (9,480 feet). The mountains here run upto 13000 feet, the slopes often being very precipitous and the valleys deep. Almost parallel and running down the centre of the district is the Ghoghar-Ki-Dhar, of which the slopes are fairly gentle. It is not well wooded, but contains large expanses of excellent grazing and the salt quarries of Drang and Guman. The Sikandar Range commences from the trijunction with Suket and Bilaspur and from there runs northward for fifty miles. The range contains some good forests of chil pine. but the greater part of it consists of rich grass slopes. It's name is attributed to Sikander Lodhi, who, 375 years before the reign of Akbar, is supposed to have crossed it on his way to the conquest of Kangra. |
The range of altitudes in the district is high, with the highest point being around 13,000 feet on the Kullu border and the lowest point 1,800 feet near Sandhol where the Beas leaves the district. The only area which is similar to the plains is the Balh valley. Several of the valleys are open and are often irrigable from kuhls, or small water channels, and contain some of the most fertile land in the state. Due to the hilly terrain, some of the hills are so precipitous that cultivation in large scale is impossible. Due to sufficient rainfall, unused land is covered with forests or forms rich grazing land. In the hills the forests are extensive and valuable. Deodhar, blue pine, silver fir, spruce, chil and various kinds of oak are plentiful. Below 4,000 feet the forests are not extensive, the only valuable ones consisting of chil, but there is considerable scrub jungle and the wide areas of grass covered slopes support the herds of cattle. |
As may be expected from the varied altitude, the climate shows large variations in the different parts of the district. It is pretty hot in the lower portions in the summer and the cold is bitter in the hills during the winter. And as such in every season, except the rainy season, there is some place in the season where the climate is inviting. |
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The district has a number of Archeological objects of interest, in which the temples form the main chunk. Of the ancient temples of Mandi town, it may be said in general that the architecture is good. they are chiefly in stone and in style with the Shikhara temples of the plains. They consist of a cella, surmounted by a saphire and a porch usually decorated with carvings. The saphire is of the usual type. In sancturies of a later time, however, it assumes the shape of a dome, in consequence of which they appear more like mosques than Hindu temples. The larger and more important temples are also furnished with an anteroom or mandap. The praticular feature which distinguishes them from the temples of the adjoining areas is the trefiol arch which generally decorates the facade or porch. It chiefly rests on the capital of the pillars or pilasters supporting the arch which are usually fluted. The brackets are often shaped as human figurines, seated on the head of an elephant and holding the trunk in their hands. The corners are sometimes ornamented with the figures of celestial musicians or gandharvas, and the whole combination produces a very pleasing effect. A brief description of these objects is given below : |
Rewalsar :Buddhism has left a few monuments of interest. The Goupa, or Buddhist shrine, at Rewalsar is of recent date, and differs little from similar sancturies found in Lahaul. On the outer wall are the Protectors of the four regions, painted in harsh colours, two on each side of the entrance. On the walls of the verandah there are two other frescoes, one representing the Wheel of Existence and the second a Lama or ascetic. Within the shrine is the image of Padma Sambhava, the chief object of worship, who the Hindus consider that of Rishi Lomas. According to the Brahmans, the seven floating islands of the lake were created by Shiva, in reward for the ascetic devotion of the rishi, and an image of the saint is preserved in a low roofed primitive building on the bank of the lake. On the rocks above the lake there are many Tibetan inscriptions, the most striking being the figure of Padma Sambhava himself who is shown with the usual attributes - a thunderbolt, a human skull and a trident crowned with three human heads. For Tourists
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Trilok Nath : The temple of Trilok Nath was built by Sultan Devi, the pious queen of Raja Ajbar Sen in 1520 AD. It is a Shiva temple erected in stone in the Shikara style. The cella contains a lefe-sized three faced stone image of Shiva who is riding on a bull with Parvati in his lap. There is also a second image, probably of Shiva, which is much worn out. The workman throughout is good but the carving has suffered much from neglect and is much worn owing to the soft nature of the sandstone employed but is still one of the finest monuments. The image which it enshrines is connected with the rite of Sati, in which a woman whose husnabd would die would burn herself on the funral pire. Such a woman was brought to the temple before she mounted the pire and was shown the face at the back of the idol. For Tourists
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The Panchvaktra temple : At the confluence of the Beas and Suketi is a Shikara temple evidently of considerable age and dedicated to Shiva, under the name of Panchvaktra (the five-faced one). the main porch or mandap is supported on four heavy pillars, the capitals of which are carved in flower-pot design and the bases in rosettes of lotuses. The main image is of some interest, since the five faces are not placed in one row as is usually the case with polycephalic statues, but in such a way that the fourth face is on the reverse side of the slab which is otherwise quite plain and fifth on top of the image slab. thus when seen from the front, only three faces are visible. The number of arms is ten. Such images of the five-faced Shiva are not uncommon in Mandi. For Tourists
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The Bhuth Nath Temple : The most popular shrine in Mandi is that of Bhuth Nath who is venerated as the guardian of the town and represents Shiva in his attributes. The temple is of stone in the Shikara style, consisting of a small porch and cella surmounted by a spire. The sabha mandap in front is apperently and addition. The porch is supported by fluted pillars with capitals carved in elephants, the arch between being trefoil. For Tourists
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The Temple of Ardhnari : One of the more modern temples, the finest from an artistic standpoint is that of Ardhnari, the stone image of which represents Shiva and his consort Parvati. The right half is that of Shiva and the left half that of Parvati. Shiva is portrayed with knotted hair, a necklace of human skulls, a serpent, a musical instrument in one hand and a damru in the other. Parvati is shown wearing an earring and a nose ring. To the main image is joined a slab on which the vehicles of the dieties - the bull and the lion - are carved. Teh whole measures 4' 4" high by 3' 3" broad. On the right and left are the images of Bhairava and Hanuman. The building consists of a cella, porch and sabha mandap and the carving throughout is rich and of considerable artistic beauty.
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The Salanu Rock Inscription : The oldest archaelogical record is the inscription on a rock at Salanu about 1 1/2 miles from Manglaur which is ascribed to the fourth or fifth century. It simply records that a Maharaja Sri-Chandesvara-hastin, who was the son of a Maharaja Ishvara-hastin, and belonging to the family of Vatsa, conquered in battle a Rajjila-bala and founded a town of which the apperently was Salipuri, presently the present village of Salri situated near the site of the inscription. These names are of no historical importance as their relationship is unknown. |
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History - Fairs & Festivals - Religion - Geography - Archaelology |
