Himachal, the land of nag devtas too!
D. C. Sharma

SNAKE worship is popular in Himachal Pradesh. There are references to it in the Mahabharata. Man worships snakes either out of awe or out of reverence. He reveres snakes as they are considered the reincarnation of Lord Shiva. Himachalis worship snakes till Janam Ashtami when the snakes go into hibernation.

Painting of Lord Krishna adorns a snake temple in Himachal

Snakes come out of hibernation after Shivratri, but their worship begins after Nag Panchami. It is only after Nag Panchami that they become ferocious. In the rainy season, their holes get filled with water. Unable to stay there they come out and can even bite people. Hence people worship them out of awe.

During these months of worship, festivals are held at various snake temples. Decorated shops sell paper-snakes. There are processions in market places. Live cobras are caught by experts and put into multi-coloured pitchers.

In some parts of Himachal small snake temples are made of cow dung. After whitewashing these, people make offerings to the nag devta. The offering is considered fit for Lord Shiva only when a live cobra passes by it.

There are snake temples in every nook and corner of Himachal but all are not famous. The ones at Nagani (Kangra), Bhagsu Nag (Dharamsala), Kamrah (Chachiot) in Mandi district, Chaiyad near Theog, Sapni (Kinnaur), and Naggar (Kullu) where a statue of Rana Guga Mal is worshipped, all deserve a mention. These temples attract a large number of devotees, including foreigners.

The most-worshipped nag devta of Himachal is that of Kamru Nag whose mention can be found in the Mahabharata. Recorded in the history of Mandi state, it is also a god of rains.

When Lord Krishna was advising Arjuna on how to fight and win the battle of Kurukshetra, a Yaksha appeared before the Lord. Realising that the Yaksha was not an ordinary one, the Lord gave him a tough test to find out the potency of his arrows: "I will be convinced if you can pierce every leaf of that enormous peepal tree with thy arrow!" When the Yaksha was preparing his arrow, the Lord plucked some leaves and hid them in his closed fists. To his surprise the arrow pierced even the leaves in his fists. The Lord realised the Yaksha was none other than Rudra.

Disguised as a Brahmin, the Lord again appeared before the Yaksha. When asked for dakshana, the Lord said: "Thy head alone can appease my hunger!" The Yaksha was taken in. He said: "Thou appease thy hunger, but please place my head on the tree on the lofty Kamru hill from where I can witness the battle of Mahabharata!"

Situated at the top of the Kamru hill, this Nag temple stands in the midst of a thick forest.

Surrounded by a few small shops and a government cafe, Bhagsu Nag temple is very famous. About 600 years ago, Raja Dharam Chand, the then king of the region, got this temple built. He also built the town of Dharamsala. The remains of his ancient fort can still be seen on a tall mountain facing the temple of Bhagsu Nag.

Legend has it that a demon king, Bhagsu, was the ruler of Alvar in Rajasthan. Once a severe drought hit the region. Bhagsu promised his people that he would help them deal with the calamity. Travelling far and wide, he reached the Dull Lake near McLeodganj (Upper Dharamsala). Black mountains surround it. There was plenty of water there, and snakes infested the area even during winters .

Seeing this crystal clear water, Bhagsu Nath was thrilled. He collected the water in a big container and started towards Alvar. He could magically increase the small quantity of water if he reached his destination safe and sound. But the snakes soon realised that some water was missing from the lake. A grim fight ensued between the snakes and the King Bhagsu. The container fell down and the water started flowing in the form of jaldharas (waterfalls) which can still be seen at the water tank at Bhagsu Nag temple.

Before killing Bhagsu, the snakes agreed to grant his last wish. Bhagsu wanted a temple to be built in his memory at that place. He also disclosed that the water falling from the jaldharas had medicinal value unknown to man. Tourists from Kashmir to Kanyakumari visit this temple throughout the year.

Guga Zahir Pir whose mahasmadhi is worshipped at Naggar in Kullu district is believed to cure snake bites. Russian painter Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerick had made an impressive painting of Rana Guga Mal. Guga came to be known as a saint who could cure snake bites after he visited the holy shrines of Mecca and Medina.

Guga was born after his sterile mother got a boon from Guru Gorakh Nath, an incarnation of Lord Shiva. His blue horse was born at the same time as the mare had eaten the seeds of the fruit eaten by Guga’s mother. Both Guga and his magic horse were immune to serpents’ bites. Guga was brave enough to defeat Mohammed Gaznavi in the battlefield.

After killing his vile cousins, Guga entered mahasmadhi near Guga Marhi in Bikaner (Rajasthan). To console his weeping wife, Guga started visiting her (in the form of a spirit) at night. Seeing her widowed daughter-in-law adorning herself like a newly married bride every night, Guga’s mother naturally grew suspicious. One night the mother caught Guga who promised her that he would emerge from the earth along with his horse. But he asked her to keep this a secret. She, however spread the news. As a result the bodies of Guga and his horse which had partly come out of the earth turned to stone. These images are still worshipped.

Strangely enough, at many snake temples of Himachal, the images of Lord Krishna, playing a flute, and Radha are worshipped. Children make drawings of Murlidhar and offer them to the snake images at various snake temples. Beginning with Nag Panchami festivals at snake temples carry on for many months. It is believed that if a person visits a snake temple then his family will become immune to snake bites.