Bathu temples (बाथू मंदिर), known locally as ''Bathu ki ladi'' (बाथू की लड़ी), is a cluster of temples in the

Kangra district Kangra district is the most populous district of Himachal Pradesh, India. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having one of the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch of ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

, with the main temple dedicated to goddess

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

and

Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...

. These temples were submerged in

Maharana Pratap Sagar Maharana Pratap Sagar, also known as Pong Reservoir or Pong Dam Lake, is a large reservoir in Fatehpur, Jawali and Dehra tehsil of Kangra district of the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. It was created in 1975, by building the highest earth ...

, a reservoir created by

Pong dam The Pong Dam, also known as the Beas Dam, is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Beas River in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, just upstream of Talwara. The purpose of the dam is water storage for irrigation and hydroelectric power generati ...

in the early 1970s. Since then, these temples are only accessible from May to June when the water level decreases.

History

Per the local folklore legends, the Bathu cluster of temples were built by the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

when they were travelling through the area during their period of exile. The Pandavas attempted to build a staircase to connect with the Masrur rock temples in one night but the construction was abandoned midway. The half-constructed stairway consisting of forty stairs can still be seen there and it is accessible to the public. It is believed that the Pandavas had built eleven temples, out of which two were destroyed with time and nine remains. Parallel historical records suggest that the temples were built in 8th century AD by the Hindu Shahi dynasty. The central temple is considered to be dedicated to

while some believe it is dedicated to

lord Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vish ...

Architecture

The Bathu temples are built in the Nagara style architecture, which is common in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The temples are built with ''bathu'' stones; despite being submerged for 8 months every year, there has been minimal damage to the temples. The stones bear the iconography of goddess Kali and lord Ganesha, and there is lord Vishnu reclining on

Sheshnag Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents (Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the p ...

inside the temple. No priests are available at the temples; devotees worship on their own. There are several small villages near the temple site, which includes Guglara, Sugnara, Harsar, Jarot, Bajera, Katnor, Khabal, Ludret, and Bhial.

Preservation

When the area was acquired in the 1970s for the creation of the Pong dam reservoir, the then government had committed to build a new temple structure at Bainan Attarian and relocate the temple idols. However, this has not yet happened. Conservationists have been trying to protect the Bathu temples. In 2022, the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

(ASI) was contacted by the

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with the ...

(INTACH) with the request to relocate the ancient Bathu temples.

Travel

The Bathu temples are accessible between March and June only. It is situated around 3 kilometers from Dhameta village and Nagrota Surian and accessible by road from Jawali and by boat too. The nearest airport is the

Gaggal Airport Kangra-Gaggal Airport , officially known as Kangra Airport, is a domestic airport serving areas of Kangra including Dharamshala, the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located at Gaggal, which is situated from the city, from ...

and Dhameta village can be reached by private taxi. Near the temple, there is an island-like structure known as Rensar. There is a guesthouse managed by the forest department.

Gallery

Bathu Shivalaya 1.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 2.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 3.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 4.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 6.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 7.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 10.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 11.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 12.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 13.jpg Bathu Shivalaya 14.jpg Bathu ki ladi.jpg

References

{{Commonscat Buildings and structures in Kangra district Hindu temples in Himachal Pradesh