Bharmour is a village in the Indian 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 ...

. Located in

Chamba district Chamba district is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains ...

, it is known for the Chaurasi Temple complex. Bharmour is associated with the historical Brahampura, the capital of

Chamba State Chamba State was one of the oldest princely states in present-day Republic of India, having been founded during the late 6th century. It was part of the States of the Punjab Hills of the Punjab Province (British India), Punjab Province in Br ...

. Bharmour is also a

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

for the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha.

History

The region was settled by Kolian tribes around 2nd century BCE. In 6th century AD, King Meru founded the

and Brahampura served as its capital. In 920 CE, Raja Sahil Varman shifted the capital of the Chamba State to Chamba.

Geography

Bharmour is located about 60kms to the south-east of Chamba.

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Bharmour had a total population of 1,374, of which 717 were males and 657 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 168. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Bharmour was 86.15 %, of which male literacy rate was 92.15% and female literacy rate was 79.73 %. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 203 and 961 respectively. Bharmour had 319 households in 2011.

Notable places

Chaurasi Temple

Chaurasi Temple is located in the centre of Bharmour town. There are 84 shrines built in the periphery of Chaurasi Temple. "Chaurasi" is the Hindi word for the number eighty-four. The temple complex was built approximately the 7th century.

Major temples in the complex

* Lakshana Devi Temple (Lakhna Devi/Bhadrakali): The temple of Lakshana Devi is the oldest temple at Chaurasi Temple, Bharmour. It is dedicated to Durga in her aspect of four-armed Mahishasuramardini, the slayer of the buffalo-demon

Mahishasura Mahishasura (, ) is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of the asura Rambha (asura), Rambha and the brother of buf ...

. The carvings include themes of Shaivism and Vaishnavism. * Manimahesh (Shiva) Temple: the Manimahesh Temple which stands in the centre of the Chaurasi Temple, is the main temple, enshrining a huge Shiva linga. * Narsingh (Narasimha) Temple:

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

(Sanskrit: Narsingh) or Nrusimha, also spelled as Narasingh whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion". * Lord Nandi Bull Temple: the life-size metal bull Nandi, locally known as Nandigan with the broken ear and tail, can be seen standing in a modern shed in front of Manimahesh temple. * Dharmeshvar Mahadev (Dharamraj) Temple: Dharamraj, known as Dharmeshvar Mahadev, is in the northern corner of Chaurasi * Ganesh or Ganpati Temple: the

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

temple is situated near the entrance of the Chaurasi Temple.

References

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