Hindus all over the world celebrate Mahashivaratri, a festival dedicated to Shiva or Mahadev (the god of gods), one of the three principal gods or Tridev—the other two being Brahma and Vishnu—in a grand manner. Monday of every week is considered to be the holy day for worshipping Shiva. Mahashivaratri, which falls mostly on the month of Falgun, marks the day when Shiva saved the world from destruction by holding the deadly Halahala (a deadly poison) in his throat. During this festival, people observe fasting, worship Shiva and stay awake all night. After bathing early in the morning, devotees visit Shiva temples and worship the god with Bel (wood apple) leaves and datura flowers (moonflowers) amid the chants of ‘Om Namah Shivaya’.
There are many interesting myths about the origin of Mahashivaratri. One of them goes: Once gods were trying to extract nectar from the ocean using the Manthara mountain as Madani (a pole with shafts, used for churning milk) and the great serpent Vasuki as a rope. Vasuki got tired and started vomiting Halahal, leaving the deities much panicked as the poison could destroy the entire universe. Shiva drank this poison to avert the calamity while Parvati, his consort, sat down pressing the throat to prevent the poison from going down his throat. Vishnu also closed Shiva’s mouth to prevent the poison from spreading. The gods were worried and fasted all day and stayed awake all night, wishing for Shiva’s good health. Shiva held Halahal in his throat throughout, causing it to turn blue. For this reason, he got the name Neelkanth (blue-throated) and the night dedicated to him is known as Mahashivaratri.
Dolakha is an ancient town with rich Newari culture outside the valley. Here, not a month goes by without some festival or fair. There are various arrangements not only for food and drink but also for entertainment during every festival.
There are Mahadev temples in Pingal Tole, Tashicha Tole and Simbhuthan of the upper tole of Dolakha. Among these, locals offer puja during Mahashivaratri at at Mahadev temples of Simbhuthan and Pingal Tole by making a huge fire. Bhimeshwar is considered a manifestation of Mahadev and there’s a temple dedicated to him in Dolakha (the Bhimeshwar temple), but no big celebration takes place at the temple during Mahashivaratri.
The late Balkrishna Joshi, former Chief of Gauri Shankar Campus, had first published an article about the cult of Bhimeswar using the term ‘Ek Shila Teen Avatar’ in the magazine ‘Hamro Sanskriti’ published by the Department of Culture. He wrote that even if there is only one stone idol, it takes three forms—Bhimsen, Bhimeshwar and Bhairav—during different times of worship. The term ‘Ek Shila Teen Avatar’ that he used for the first time has become very popular now.
The late Joshi had made some revisions in this article before his death, a part of which is presented here: “There is another legend about the origins of Bhimeshwar. During their exile into the woods (they had gone incognito for the sake of their saftety)—after losing all in a gamble (dhyutkrida) with the Kauravs at Hastinapur—the Pandava reached Dolakha through the forests hills. At that time, Draupadi became very tired and sick. She started crying and bemoaned with Bhimsen about her poor condition. Moved by her plight, Bhimsen worshiped and prayed to Mahadev by looking toward Mount Gaurishankar. Thereafter, Draupadi became healthy and was able to walk. After this, Bhimsen, pleased with blessings from Mahadev installed a Shivalinga and worshiped it. This Shivalinga came to be known as Bhimeshwar.
He had used the term ‘Ek Shila Teen Avatar’ as there are three forms of Dolakha Bhimeshwar: Mahadev (at the time of Rudri Puja), Bhimsen (at the time of daily worship) and Bhairav (at the time of buffalo and goat sacrifice). Gods used to take different forms in ancient times and Bhimeshwar of Dolakha was (and is) no exception.
According to Dhanbajra Bajracharya and Tek Bahadur Shrestha (The Historical Outline of Dolakha), “There is no special statue of Bhimsen like Bhimsensthan in other places. There is only one type of Shivalinga-shaped idol. Here, Bhimsen is also considered an ‘Ishwar’ (Mahadev) and Rudri performed. Along with this, animal sacrifices are also performed here by wrapping the idol of Bhimeshwar in a Khada.”
According to historians, expressions such as Shree 3 Mahadev, glory to Shankar and Shree 3 Bhimeshwar inscribed in old gold and copper plates, mace, pinnacle, etc indicate that Bhimsen had the temple of Bhimeshwar built in Dolakha.
The evidence found in Vanshawali (genealogies) and writings of foreign scholars strongly supports the opinion of the late Joshi. In the course of their research into the history of Nepal, foreign scholars like Mary Slusser and Sylvian Levy have highlighted the glory of Bhimeshwar, but Nepali scholars seem to have ignored it. A book titled ‘Nepal Desh Ko Itihas’ goes: One day, Bhimsen came to Nepal (then Kathmandu valley), where Danasur was blocking the flow of water and enjoying a ride on a boat made of a rock. Upon seeing him, girls got frightened and ran away….. Bhimsen established a Shivalinga (Bhimeshwar Shivalinga) and returned to Dolakha. It is believed that the rock still lies in Bhimdhunga, a settlement in Nagarjun municipality, Kathmandu.
In Dolakha Bhimeshwar, devotees pray for their welfare, offer puja and perform Rudri Puja round the year. During Rudri, water mixed with milk is continuously poured over the idol from a special vessel hanging on top of the idol. Tridents, sloping bulls and drums offered at the temple point that many devotees regard Bhimeshwar as a form of Shiva. On the occasion of Bhim Ekadashi, the leaves of Bel tree are put in a palanquin and brought at the temple for offering puja to Shiva amid a musical procession that attracts devotees from far and wide.
Therefore, there should be no delay in taking the initiative to celebrate Mahashivratri with great pomp in Dolakha as well.
