Kullu Dussehra : Relive the divine power

Kullu, the “Valley of Gods”, is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful parts of Himachal Pradesh. This serene hill town of Northern India is famous for attracting visitors from far and wide. Also known as “Kulanthapitha”, the valley has always been a favourite destination for travellers to experience the mystical land and rustic way of life.
Kullu Dussehra is the renowned International Mega Dussehra festival observed in the month of October in Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. Wherein more than 1 to 1.5 lac people visits the fair from all across the Globe. It is celebrated in the Dhalpur ground in the Kullu valley. Dussehra at Kullu commences on the tenth day of the rising moon, i.e. on 'Vijay Dashmi' day itself and continues for seven days. Kullu Dussehra is slightly different because its celebrations begin when the rest of the country closes the nine-day long festival. The festival will continue for seven days. Dussehra in Kullu is a week-long festival, which is famous for its large number of visitors and grand celebrations. Kullu Dussehra was declared an international event in 1972 and is witnessed by around 4-5 Lac people from across the globe.

History of Kullu Dussehra :

The beginning of Dussehra in Kullu dates back to the regime of Raja Jagat Singh who ruled Kullu from 1637 to 1672. There is a legend that Raja Jagat Singh of Kullu who had been informed that a bowl full of pearls was in the possession of Durga Dutt, a poor Brahmin of village Tipri. The Raja directed his courtiers to fetch the pearls from the Brahmin, was greatly harassed by the them. Finding the torture rather unbearable, he told them that the pearls would be delivered to the Raja on his return to the village
from Manikaran where he was going. When the Raja arrived in the village, the Brahmin locked himself along with his family members and set fire to the house. Sitting by its side, he cut his flesh with a sharp blade at every leap of the fire and cursed the Raja for his unjust demand by saying “Have the pearls, O’ Raja”. The entire family was reduced to ashes.
After a laps of sometimes it so happened that the Raja was haunted by the spirit of the innocent Brahmin family, stung by the qualms of the conscience, he felt every moment the painful and tearing pinch of the strings and arrows of the deadly sin committed by him. Under guilt conscious and hallucination he used to see crawling worms in place of rice and human blood in place of water in the tumbler. The Raja did whatever he could do but of no avail. The news of his illness spread throughout his kingdom and all possible means of curing his disease were explored by his courtiers, prominent hakims, vaids, doctors and religious persons saints etc. But nothing could stop Raja’s hallucinations. At last a Bairagi named Krishan Dutt (Pahari Baba) offered his counsel that no medicine can be effective to cure the Raja except the blessing of lord Rama. In this direction he further suggested that the Raja should take charanamrit of an idol of lord Rama. This idea struck sound in the mind of the Raja and further efforts were made to procure a holy idol from Ayodhya. His efforts succeeded in procuring a genuine idol from Ayodhya. For this work a disciple of Bairagi Krishan Dutt named Damodar Dass was selected and deputed for this
purpose. Damodar Dass had attained miraculous power known as ‘Gutka Sidhi’. Through this miraculous power he was able to procure the rare piece of Rama’s idol alongwith Pujari from ‘Tret Nath’ Temple of Ayodhya in July 1651 AD which was installed in Raghunathji’s temple at Sultanpur Kullu by observing all the rituals suggested by the learned priests of that time. It may be of interest to record here that a special class of priests were brought from Ayodhya to conduct the rituals and their descendants still continue to keep-up the tradition.
Raja Jagat Singh faithfully observed the suggestions of Bairagi Krishan Dutt and by and by, he showed signs of recovery from the dreaded disease. He was greatly influenced by the divine power of Rama, so much so that he abdicated his throne to the will of Raghunathji and became ‘Chharibardar’ of Raghunathji. This incident had a great impact in his state and as a consequence thereof all the Devis and Devtas accepted the overall lordship of Raghunathji. The Raja spent his order to all the ‘Kardars’ of all Gods and Goddesses of the state to assemble at Kullu on the festive occasion of Vijya Dashmi to first pay obeisance to Raghunathji and then participate
in the festivities thereafter.

Rath procession and Celebrations :

Devi-devtas of coming from various places of Kullu pay respect to Raghunathji at Dhalpur as they reach and settle down at their respective places allotted to them.
Dussehra in Kullu valley is a much awaited and celebrated festival. This week-long festival starts with a procession of Lord Raghunath, along with other deities, carried on a Ratha across the town. The village Gods and minor deities are also a part of this celebration. The centre of the festivities is the Dhalpur ground. The pleasant weather and breathtaking beauty of the valley along with the celebrations fill the visitors with eternal happiness and satisfaction. The festival gets merrier with dancing, drinking and feasting for a week. The Kala Kendra festival is held at night where several activities and cultural events take place. Thousands of people from all over the country and world visit this place during Dussehra. The festival is very well organized which only makes the experience worth remembering.
On the 6th day of the festival, an assembly of village Devtas take place which is definitely a sight which one must watch. The last day of the celebrations is marked by sacrifices; a fish, a crab, a rooster, a buffalo and a lamb are sacrificed and a huge bonfire is lit. These mega-festival witnesses the worshipping of around 250-300 idols from the adjoining villages of Kullu. The idol of Ragunath ji is brought back to it’s original place through a grand procession. Various cultural processions from different countries are invited, almost like the processions during national festivals. Thus one can see the difference between the Kullu Dussehra and the Dussehra being celebrated in different parts of the country. The grandeur and celebration at Kullu Dussehra is something which every visitor here will always treasure.