Meditation In The Hot Cave Of Manikaran Sahib

It was an extremely “hot” experience visiting a cool Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh of India. The place Manikaran Sahib is associated with many amazing legends. What amazed me most about this place was that this was the place which first was procured by Manu after the great floods. This was the first place where human creation was started by Manu. So, I felt like connecting back to the roots.

The day we visited the place, it was raining heavily, flooding Parvati River and the road was blocked by landslides. So, we had to trek on muddy, slippery slopes of the mountains to reach at the temple and Gurudwara both constructed side by side.

River Parvati is named so, based on its association with Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. And the place Manikaran gets its name from an incident happened with them.  Once they were roaming in the Kullu valley and a gem from the earring of goddess fell there. Sheshanag was there around and got the gem. Playing wicked, he vanished underground with the gem immediately. Lord Shiva sent many of his Ganas to bring back the gem, but they failed.

Then lord Shiva performed Tandav, the fierce cosmic dance there causing everything to burn out and Sheshanag had no other option left than returning the gem. He hissed out the gem along with a hot water fountain here. This hot water spring is there inside the premises of temple. A holy dip there is believed to wash away all sins and diseases. This hot spring does not have Sulphur in it.

Apart from holy Parvati Kund bathing area, there is a portion of hot spring in which rice is still cooked for prasadam every day. This place is associated with first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev ji Maharaj. In 1574, Guru Nanak Dev ji and his disciple Bhai Mardana travelled through this place. Bhai Mardana was very hungry, but they had no food. Bhai Mardana collected flour from local people. But there was no fire to cook the food. Guru Sahib asked him to lift a stone. Upon doing so, a hot spring appeared from that place. Bhai Mardana put his rolled rotis in the spring, but all sank. Then Guru Sahib asked him to pray to God that if rotis float up back then he would donate one roti in His Name. Then Rotis floated up back duly baked and a great langar is still running there feeding everyone in His name.

The unforgettable moments spent meditating in the hot cave there still give me baking effect upon remembering. This was a small rocky cave without any water but cannot sit there for long due to heat. Such a holy place of devotion has been blessed by many sages and mahapurushas as well.

This beautiful area is rich in gemstones, metals, and geothermal resources geologically. However, it is a place where you retrieve back what punya you have lost. It is a place where you can wash away your sins. What else we need?