The Mahunag temple Karsog, Mandi

There are several temples in Himachal Pradesh and each one has a rich history associated with it. Mahunag temple is one such temple, located in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh,. It have several legends associated with it. The temple is dedicated to lord Mahunag, who is widely worshipped by the people of Himachal. Though there are several temples of mahunag Ji, the one located at Parlog, near karsog is the main temple. I’ve been worshipping lord mahunag since childhood and I have visited this temple when I was 8-9 yrs old. I was looking for another opportunity to pay a visit to lord mahurag Ji temple. Finally, I along with my family were able to make it to Mahunag temple, last month and I thought to write a blog about it.

The History

The Mahunag temple is dedicated to Lord mahunag, which is believed to be an avatar of lord Karn from Mahabharat. According to legend, a farmer found an idol of the lord Karn when he was plowing his field, Unaware of its significance, he kept the idol at his home. This was not liked by the god and several unfortunate things started to happen to his family, then on the advice of the elder people of the village, he installed the idol at a hilltop in a ceremony. The present Mahunag temple was built in the 17th century by Raja Shyam Sen. The idol of lord Karn is bought out on his birthday. The Idol can also be seen at an annual fair that is held in the month of July. The story behind the fair is also an interesting one. Once britishers took a local to its custody in shimla. The resident prayed to Lord mahunag to help him. It is believed that Lord Mahunag appeared inside the jail cell and helped him get out of the jail. To express his gratitude towards Mahunag Ji, he organized a ceremony. The ceremony is still conducted today in the form of Mela every year.

How to reach

Mahunag temple is around 100 km from Shimla and can be reached via Sunni Tattapani. The road to Tattapani is quite good, but the road beyond Tattapani will definitely test your driving skills. The road is narrow, with a deep gorge on one side. We can have a pitstop at tattapani, which is also a religious place with good views around. The road to the Mahunag temple is as good as the destination. There are amazing views of nature en route to the temple. The link road from NH till the temple is very congested, please bring a skilled driver with you.