Chaurasi Temple, Bharmour

The Chaurasi Temple at Bharmour in Himachal Pradesh is not one shrine but a courtyard holding eighty-four (chaurasi) temples, raised between the 7th and 10th centuries when Bharmour — then called Brahmapura — was the capital of the Chamba kingdom. Its oldest shrines, dedicated to Lakshana Devi and to Shiva as Manimahesh, hold some of the earliest surviving metal and stone images in the western Himalaya.

Why are there 84 temples in one courtyard?

“Chaurasi” is simply the Pahari word for eighty-four, the number of shrines gathered on the open plateau at the centre of Bharmour. Tradition holds that 84 siddhas — accomplished yogis — once halted at Bharmour on their way to Manimahesh Kailash, sat in meditation, and on rising left 84 small temples to mark the spot. The complex grew over centuries around that older core, and the shrines today range from tall stone towers to modest cells.

The ancient Lakshana Devi shrine

The most precious building is the Lakshana Devi temple, raised in the 7th century by Raja Meru Varman. Built in the Himalayan wooden style, it holds a brass image of the goddess cast by the master craftsman Gugga — among the earliest dated metal images in the region. Two more bronzes from Meru Varman’s reign, at the Ganesh and Nara Singh shrines, survive in the same complex, making Bharmour an open-air record of early Chamba art.

The Manimahesh temple and the Gaddi people

At the centre stands the Manimahesh temple, a stone shikhara shrine to Shiva in the north-Indian Nagara style. For the Gaddi shepherd community, whose homeland is Bharmour, Shiva as Manimahesh is the chief deity, and this temple is the spiritual heart of their world. The Gaddis carry the worship of the snow-peak of Manimahesh Kailash, seen from the high pastures, down into the temple at Bharmour.

Architecture across three centuries

The Chaurasi complex sets two traditions side by side: the carved wooden shrines of the 7th-century Varman kings, with their deeply worked doorframes, and the later stone shikhara temples of the Nagara style. Together they form a compact record of how Himalayan temple-building changed between the 7th and 10th centuries, gathered on a single paved courtyard above 2,100 metres.

The Manimahesh Yatra

Bharmour is the staging point for the Manimahesh Yatra, the annual pilgrimage to the sacred glacial lake of Manimahesh below its Kailash peak. Held around Janmashtami and Radhashtami in August–September, the trek draws thousands who begin with worship at the Chaurasi temples before climbing to the lake. For many pilgrims, the courtyard is where the journey formally begins.

How to reach Bharmour

• By road: Bharmour is about 65 km from Chamba town by mountain road, roughly two-and-a-half to three hours; Chamba links to Pathankot and Dalhousie.
• By rail: Pathankot (about 180 km) is the nearest broad-gauge railhead.
• By air: Kangra (Gaggal) airport near Dharamshala is the closest, with the rest of the journey by road.

Frequently Asked Questions

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