Mandi’s Kamrunag deity pays maiden visit to Kullu

The Kamrunag deity, known as “Bada Dev” and chief deity of the Mandi Shivratri festival, has come on his maiden visit to Kullu from Mandi.

The gold and silver “mohra” (symbol) of the deity was accompanied by the palanquin of his son deity Balatika Tungrashan. The symbols of “Jogni Mata” and three “trishools” (tridents) also accompanied the deity.

The deity reached Bhuntar on the night of October 22 upon invitation by a devotee Khushal Thakur. The deities were warmly welcomed at various places from Mandi to Kullu as the entire journey was traversed on foot by the “devalus” (followers of the deity). According to the followers, the deity had come to Kullu for the first time in history.

Meanwhile, the Bhuntar town resonated with melodious drum beats. “Devalus” danced and sang together. A largnumber of devotees gathered to seek the blessings of the deities. A large community feast was also organised yesterday. Khushal Thakur and his wife Rajni Thakur said they were requesting the deity for the past 14 years to pay a visit to their house in Bhuntar. Finally, the deity blessed them by accepting their prayers.

A devotee Pankaj Handa said, “It was a blessing to get the grace of deity Kamrunag at Kullu, as approaching the deity’s temple in the Gohar block in Mandi has been a daunting task.” He added that now a metalled road had been constructed making the access to the temple easy but earlier the devotees had to trek a 6 km arduous path from Rohanda to reach the Kamrunag temple, taking about 3 to 4 hours.

The deity also proceeded to the temple of Balatika in Gadouri village where a large number of devotees witnessed the emotional meeting of deity Balatika Gadouri and deity Kamrunag. The priest of Gadouri temple said, “The meeting of father and son was a historic moment.” The entire atmosphere was devotional amidst tunes of traditional bands and essence of traditional ‘dhoop’. A community feast was also held today at the temple in Gadouri.

The deity is scheduled to halt in Bajaura tonight and would return towards his sanctum sanctorum in Mandi tomorrow.