The Story of Brahmani Devi

Manimahesh, situated in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, is a mountain shrine of Shiva, next to Manasarovar Kailash in its religious significance. Though considered as one of the most powerful gods in Hindu mythology, Shiva had his own follies. We came across such a story on our trip to Manimahesh a few years back.

Manimahesh peak

The day before we started on the trek to the lake at the foot of the Manimahesh Kailash peak, we had put up for the night at a nearby village, called Bharmaur, (or Brahmapur in the ancient times). We were told that the presiding deity of the place is Brahmani Devi, the mother goddess, or none other that the wife of the supreme god Brahma. She lived here in a small cottage with his son and her pet bird. There had been a beautiful garden surrounding her abode. Obviously, the residents around the place maintained strict discipline, careful not to invite the wrath of the Devi.

The shrine of Brahmani Devi, Bharmour

One fine day, when Parvati (Shiva’s wife) was away with her four children, probably to her parents’ place, Shiva, like every mortal husband, wanted to make the best of her absence. He gathered eighty-four of his followers and started loitering around. His favorite bull, Nandi, and his faithful servant, Bhringi, accompanied the party.

By the evening, the group landed at Brahmapur, where Shiva wanted to camp for the night. The followers promptly pitched the tents at a corner of the garden of Brahmani Devi. Nandi was hungry after the day’s journey; he started chewing some sweet plants in the garden. Bhringi busied himself in arranging Ganja (cannabis) for the entourage.

Soon  enough, the fumes  of cannabis invaded the space and reached Brhamani Devi’s nose, and the commotion raised by the party penetrated her ears. She was quite upset and came out of her cottage to investigate. When she discovered the party and their activities, her anger knew no bounds. She chased the entourage with a big broom wielding in her hand. The followers of Shiva could not stand her wrath and froze to stones. Shiva wasted no time in wrapping up his tiger-skin (on which sits) and other odd belongings. He promptly summoned Bhringi and the duo made a hasty retreat to the nearby hills of Manimahesh on the back of Nandi.

Temple at Chaurasi Dham (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The eighty-four our pieces of stones (lingas) still stand at Shiva's camping site as evidences to the event. Eventually, a temple dedicated to Shiva and his followers have been erected on the site, and it is known as the Chaurasi temple. Ever since the incidence, Shiva hides behind the peak of Manimahesh, which is under the wraps of cloud most of the time. Once in a while, when the cloud cover lifts, he peeps out to see if Brahmani Devi is still there with her broom. Maybe, he still looks for an opportunity to come around, make amends with Brahmani Devi and revive his followers to go partying again, elsewhere.

There may not be any truth in the story, and all the characters may be mythical. They do not reflect my personal belief either. They are not intended to hurt the sentiments of any community. They are just shreds of stories that I have heard here and there, and tried to string them together with some colors and spices added to them.

PostScript: The Brahmani Devi's shrine at Bharmaur is at a greater altitude than the Chaurasi temple dedicated to Shiva, signifying the relative supremacy of the former.


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