Churdhar Shirgul Maharaja Temple- Himachal Pradesh

Address

Churdhar Shirgul Maharaja Temple- Churdhar, Sirmour, Shimla District, Himachal Pradesh 171211

Diety

Shiva

Introduction

Churdhar temple is named after the Churdhar peak, which has an elevation of 3647 meters above sea level and is located in Sirmour, Shimla district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Churdhar peak is the highest peak in Sirmour district and is also the highest peak in the outer Himalayas. The peak has a great religious significance for the people of Sirmour, Shimla, Chaupal and Solan of Himachal Pradesh and Dehradun of Uttrakhand. Churdhar is a holy place related with Shri Shirgul Maharaj also knows as Chureshwar Maharaj, a deity widely worshipped in Sirmour and Chaupal. The major god of area is Lord Shirgul Maharaj. The Temple is believed to be 1000 years old.

Puranic Significance

This is one of the oldest temples in the state which is during the times of Mahabharata, behind this temple there is a big story. During the times of Mahabharata one person whose name is Churu go to this temple and he is with his son and they are sitting on the stone which is very big and suddenly a snake came there and they want to run but they are not able to run then the Shirgul Maharaja saw that a big snake is killing his pilgrimage then he break the stone into part on the one part of stone is fixed and the second part is fallen so the snake is killed and Churu and his son are safely go to home that’s why this place is known as Churdhar. In this temple there is statue of Lord Shiva is situated on the top of hill, this temple is also known as Shirgul temple because it is the another name of Lord Shiva. Below the summit is the deodar-roofed, single-storey, square temple of Srigul with a lingam, dedicated to Lord Shiva (Chureshwar Mahadev). Pilgrims sing and dance at night during the Navratras fair in this ancient temple. Trekkers tread over small glaciers on their way to the wind-blown Churdhar summit, which has moderate to heavy snowfall (average of 33 feet snow). Often the Srigul temple gets buried under it.