Credit: Appin Rawat
About Lakhamandal Temple
Lakhamandal Temple, or Lakshamnadal, is a historic temple that is situated on Mussoorie-Yamunotri Road at a height of 1090 meters. It was believed that at the place of the Lakhamandal temple, there was a palace made of resinous timber.
In Hindi, ‘lakh’ or ‘lac’ is Hindi for resin, and ‘Mandal’ means region. During the Mahabharata times, the Kauravas, who conspired to kill Kauravas, built the palace.
The region of Lakhamandal has many interests that are associated with the Mahabharata. Lakhamandal is the place where Bhima killed two tyrannical chieftains. He married the sister of a tyrant named Hidimba and fathered Ghatokach.
It was mentioned in Walten’s Gazetteer of the doon, a tunnel leading from the palace to the river bed that was used by Pandavas when the palace was set on fire.
Lakhamandal rocks are inscribed with the names of nine rulers, of which three have been erased with the passage of time.Among them, the ruler Changlesh built the Shiva temple in Lakhamandal. The Lakhamandal region has also been ruled by the 11th generation of the Seoverman dynasty.
Bhaskerverman, one of the rulers, married Jayali. Their daughter Ishwara married the ruler of Chandragupta (Punjab), Jalandhar.But unfortunately, Ishwara became widowed, so she decided to move back to her parental house in Lakhamandal.In memory of her husband, she decided to build a Shiva temple.
She inscribed on the temple that as long as the earth, the sea, the moon, and the stars exist, the temple built for her husband will last.