Kullu Dussehra is so flamboyantly opulent that it’s difficult to describe it’s enigma by any word present in the dictionary. Kullu is often described as “valley of Gods” or “land of Gods” due to the number of local deities in the region which act as capacitive authorities. Today we talk about Kullu dussehra in brief
| Large number of people during rath yatra |
How is Kullu Dussehra celebrated?
Kullu Dussehra is one of the most important and famous celebrations in the region, it is celebrated in a totally different contrast from the entire country. The celebration take place on the tenth day of Navratri that is on Vijaydashmi day around the month of October. Dussehra in Kullu starts with the Rath yatra which is the most awaited event of the year and continues for seven days. Thousands of people participate in rath yatra pulling the rath with the help of ropes accompanied by the local devtas which move along the rath of Shri Raghunath ji. Kullu dussehra has always been a key attraction for the tourists not only from India but also from across the globe. The cultural innocence of the place and the traditional way of celebration makes Kullu Dussehra different from the entire country.
| Devtas during the rath yatra in kullu dussehra |
History of Kullu Dussehra
It’s the legend of 16th century when Raja Jagat singh used to rule over Kullu kingdom. It is believed that one day he came to know about the peasant in the region who was possessing the riches of pearls. Raja Jagat Singh became greedy and wanted to own the riches of the peasant and thus ordered the poor peasant to either handover the pearls to the king or get hanged but the irony of situation was that the pearl possessed by the Brahmin was the great wisdom and knowledge, Knowing of the consequences peasant threw himself in the fire and cursed the king that “Whenever you will eat, the Rice will appear like worm and water like blood”. To change his fate Raja was told by the brahmin to go and fetch Raghunath deity from Ayodhya and hence Raja Jagat Singh told one of his brahmin to do the desired work. The Brahmin sneaked into the city and was able to steal the deity of Raghunath but was captured by the local people of the Ayodhya. It is believed that when they were carrying the deity towards Ayodhya the weight of the deity increased manifold but when carried towards Kullu it became light. This Raghunath deity is placed in the rath during the rath yatra on first and last day of dussehra and this is how dussehra in Kullu is celebrated
| Raghnath rath |
How to reach Kullu dussehra
Airport
Bhuntar airport is the nearest airport which links Delhi to Bhuntar. Bhuntar is at a distance of 11 km from Dhalpur ground where dussehra is celebrated.
Road
The site of Kullu dussehra, Dhalpur ground, can be accessed by Cab as well as bus services. Number of Volvos and other buses come from Delhi to Manali. If you are accessing Kullu dussehra then the best way to access is through the left bank as traffic on left bank is scarce as compared to the highway through town.
