|
SIGHTSEEING
Unlike in Garhwal, Kinnaur and the Kullu Valley, where the Pandavas (the heroes of the epic Mahabharata) are considered the righteous ones and are revered, in the Tons Valley people are over-awed by the Kauravas, the wrong doers, and worship them as gods.
The most famous place in the Tons Valley is Netwar where the temple of Karna is situated. Karna was the first born of the Pandavas' Kunti, whom she had abandoned at birth and who had become an ally of the Kauravas. One will have to climb one and half mile to reach the small village of Sarnaul to reach this temple. There are two other gods whom the people in this valley worship. One of them is Pokhu, whose temple is at the confluence of the Rupin and Supin rivers, which meet at Netwar to form the Tons valley and the other is Mahasu whose temple is in Anol.
God Mahasu is said to have been invited to this valley from Kashmir to kill the demon Kirbir and to rid the people of his terror. Pokhu Devta's temple is very similar to the temple of Karna in shape, but the inside of the temple bears a depressing look. The sacrificial altar has splashes of dried blood on it. In the inner chamber, a shivling is installed. Pokhu's chamber is behind the shivling. Pokhu is said to have been a deputy of Karna and an attendant of Lord Shiva. He is terrible and unrelenting in punishing his erring followers. Therefore, theft and other petty crimes in this valley are unheard of. The face of god is not shown to anyone, as his image will create horror. It is for this reason that even the priest, while worshipping him, stands with his back towards him.
In Jakhol, 13 km from Sankri is the biggest temple dedicated to Duryodhan, the eldest of the Kauravas. The people of this valley had allied themselves with the Kauravas in the battle of Mahabharata, and in due course they accepted them as gods and raised imposing temples of Duryodhan and Karna. Later on it seems they began to respect the Pandavas and started to worship then in the temples. During Shankaracharya's times, Shiv Puja (worship of Lord Shiva) came to this valley and shivlings were installed in these temples.
Another temple of Karna is situated in the village Deora. It is a rectangular wooden structure with pent roofs lined with slates. On the roof is a wooden umbrella topped with a brass finial. The wood beams and columns in front are decorated with carvings of exquisite charm while the temple doors are decorated with relief metal plates, which depict birds, animals, reptiles and scenes from the Ramayana. The villagers have nailed coins in thanksgiving for their fulfilled wishes. In the compound on the right of the temple stand six miniature temples, which represent Karna and the five Pandavas. There is also a shivling, a sculpture of Parvati and one of Nandi bull in the compound.
THE FESTIVAL OF BALL
Outside the Karna Temple compound in Deora are the grounds where a 'festival of ball' takes place annually on Makar Sankranti. The two teams are named Kauravas and Pandavas. The hide of a dead cow is stuffed with stones and earth so that it shapes into a big ball weighing about eight to ten kg. The ball represents Ghatotkach, the warrior son of Bhim and Hidimba, whom he had married after killing her demon brother Hidimb in an encounter in Doongri woods near Manali in the Kullu Valley. Ghatotkach had been killed by Karna in the battle of Mahabharata and the object in naming the ball Ghatotkach and playing with it in the temple of Karna seems to be to humiliate the vanquished. In the evening the ball is worshipped and thrown in the middle of the ground and the players rush to grab it. If the ball falls into the hands of a member of the Kaurava team it is said that the year will be bad, but if it falls into the hands of a member of the Pandava team, it is taken as a sign of prosperity for the entire valley. Meanwhile the village orchestra of drums, cymbals and pipes plays louder and louder and the entire population of the nearby villages assemble to witness the game. The two teams try to take the ball to their side of the ground.
HOW TO REACH
Netwar can be reached from Dehradun, around 183 km away, via Sankri by regular buses. From Netwar, Osla is 34 km and Har-Ki-Doon is about 50 km. From the Swargarohini peak, which the Pandavas and Draupadi climbed to ascend to heaven, Har-Ki-Doon is an eight-hour journey. The valley has been declared a wildlife sanctuary.
|
