Una, a district of Himachal Pradesh, is the entryway to Himachal Pradesh as it shares its boarders with Punjab. In 1966, Una used to be a part of Hoshiarpur district in Punjab. Himachal Pradesh Government declared Una and Hamirpur as districts in September 1972. It is said that, the 5th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev has named the place ‘Unnati’ as a respect for the hardworking people of the city. Una has less mountain area which is covered by Sivalik Hills, and River Swan, a tributary of Sutlej lies on its banks.

Location: Una is located in the South-western part of Himachal Pradesh. It shares its boundaries with Kangra, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts. Una is approachable by road, railways and by air.

By Road: Una is well connected by buses and cabs with major cities like Delhi, Chandigarh and Pathankot which is about 365 km, 121km and 148 km respectively. Many HRTC buses run between the districts of Himachal Pradesh and from other states as well.

By Railway: Una is the only district which has broad-gauge railway services from Delhi and Chandigarh.

By Air: The nearest airport is Gaggal Airport at Kangra District, which is at a distance of 115 km. Una holds a rich culture which is influenced by Hinduism as well as Sikhism. There are many places of worship and temples around Una.

List of famous Temples in Una District:

  1. Baba Garibnath Ji Temple: The temple is located on the banks of Govind Sagar Lake, at Raipur region of Una district which is about 25 km from Una. The temple is dedicated to Baba Gribnath Ji who used to meditate in the caves and has healed so many people. According to some legends, about 500 years ago, when Rishi Vyas’s son Shuk dev was born, simultaneously 84 Siddhas were also born at different places.Baba Garib Das was one of the 84 Siddhas. One day a local resident saw a light coming from bushes, as he came closer, he saw someone was in a state of deep meditation. Then Baba introduced Himself and said whoever will pray here will be blessed, thus the temple was build.
    Baba Garibnath Ji temple Una
    Baba Garibnath Ji temple Una – Image Credit – Neeraj Sharma

    In 1978, Baba Naseeb Sigh who was taking care of the temple, became seriously ill and one night Baba Garibnath Ji appeared in his dream advising him to have some ash from the sacred fire in the temple. As he took the ash he was fully recovered, as a result people of the village became His disciple.

    The temple remains submerged in the water to a certain height during monsoon season. It is surrounded by lush green mountains and is a perfect blend of spirituality and natural serenity.

  2. Shri Mata Chintpurni ji Temple: The temple is located in Chintpurni town, which is about 40 km from Una and is surrounded by Shivalik hills. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Chintpurni (an incarnation of Goddess Durga) who relieves one from fear and anxiety. It is believed that when Goddess Sati died her head had fallen here and the deity is immortalized here in the form of pindi, thus also known as Maa Chinnamastika.According to a legend, when Maa Parvati fought with demons then She and Her helpers Jaya and Vijaya went to take bath in the Mandakini River. Jaya and Vijaya were feeling hungry and requested Her to feed them, Maa Parvati cut Her head and blood started to flow. As a result, both drank blood from one side and Maa Parvati Herself drank blood from the other, thus named Maa Chinnamastika.
    Shri Mata Chintpurni Ji Temple - Una
    Shri Mata Chintpurni Ji Temple – Una – Image Credit – Vishal Kumar

    The temple was built by Mai Dass, who was the priest of the village and was going to see his parents -in- law. On the way, he heard prayers and saw a little girl with celestial light coming from Her, Maa Chintpurni introduced Herself and told him to build a temple here. The temple is one of the famous Shaktipithas and many devotees from all over India seeks Her blessings.

  3. Banode Mahadev Temple: The temple is located in a Chattara town which is around 14 km from Una, and is surrounded by Shivalik hills. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati in the form of a broken Shivalinga. It is said that once there lived a demon who was given a boon by Lord Brahma that neither a man nor a women can kill him. He took undue advantage of the boon and started torturing Devatas. Seeing this Lord Shiva took the form of Ardhanarishvara and killed the demon.
    Banode Mahadev Temple - Una
    Banode Mahadev Temple – Image Source – FB Page – Banore Mahadev Shiv Mandir Chattara

    Since then, Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati reside in the form of broken Shivalinga, and this is the only temple where both are facing each other. Later, the Pandavas built the temple during their exile and took care of the temple. It is believed that whoever offers water on the Shivalinga with pure heart, his/her wishes will come true. Festivals like Mahashivratri and Shravan months are hugely celebrated here.

  4. Shiva Bari Temple: This is an ancient temple which is about 5000 years old, situated in Ambota village of Gagret in Una district. The temple is surrounded by dense forest and river Swan flows by the side. People worship Lord Shiva in the form of Shivalinga. According to legends, Guru Dronacharya used to live in Ambota village and gave education to Pandavas and Kauravas. His daily routine was to take bath in river Swan and do prayers of Lord Shiva in the Himalayas. His daughter Yayati was interested to go to the Himalayas along with him but he advised her to do the Naam Japa ‘OM Namah Shivaya’ at home only. As advised by his father, she did the prayers and as a result Lord Shiva blessed her.
    Shiva Bari Temple - Una
    Shiva Bari Temple – Una – Image Source – TripAdvisor

    He took the form of a small child and used to play with her daily. One day Guru Drona saw her daughter playing with long haired (jataas) child and came to know about Lord Shiva. So, he prayed to him and his daughter asked Him to stay with her forever and thus, the Shivalinga was established here by Guru Drona. The temple is surrounded by lush green forest and it is said that the wood from the forest is used only for temple works. There are ‘Samadhis’ of many saints in the temple.

  5. Dera Baba Vadbhag Singh: Gurudwara Baba Vadbhag Singh ji is located at Maidi village which is about 42 km from Una. The Gurudwara is dedicated to Baba Vadbhag Singh Ji who heels people from bad spirits. He was a descendant of Guru Har Rai ji and was born in 1716 A.D at Kartarpur, Punjab, and was a great warrior as well as highly spiritual since his childhood.

    He fought many battles with Mughal at Jalandhar, when Mughals attacked Jalandhar for the 13th time, He with his small army flee from there and reached Una. Mughals followed him but his spiritual powers caused huge floods and as a result Mughal’s army was destroyed. Baba ji began His spiritual journey from Himachal and used to meditate on the water banks. During his Sadhana he saw divine images of 10 Sikh Gurus, thus the place is known as ‘The valley of divine vision’ and the water is called ‘Charanganga’.

    It is said that there was a bad spirit who used to threaten people, He fought the spirit and compelled it to help the needy people. People come here from various places to seek blessings and to get relieve from the spirits. Hola Mohalla festival is widely celebrated here.

  6. Bramhoti Temple: The temple is the 2nd after Pushkar where Lord Brahma is worshipped. It is located at Himachal-Punjab border, Mehatpur in Una district on the banks of Sutlej River. The temple is also known as Mini Haridwar because it is the adobe of Ganga and there is a temple of Lord Shiva as well.It is said that Pandavas built two and a half steps in the temple to go to heaven. Legends says that Lord Bramha’s son, Vishisht Muni meditated here and got a boon of 100 sons. Vishwamitra doesn’t like Him being called Brahmarishi so he killed all his sons.
    Bramhoti Temple - UNA
    Bramhoti Temple – Image Credit – Gitanjali Kanwar

    Seeing this Lord Bramha punished him of Brahmahatya, because of this Vishwamitra was in grief and started doing meditation on Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma was pleased with him asked him to do yagna in order to remove the title of Brahmahatya. Vishwamitra along with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva performed yagna and revived all His sons, thus the temple known as Bramhoti. It is believed that whoever will come here and take a holy dip will get lifelong blessings.

  7. Sheetla Devi Temple: The temple is located in Chintpurni in Una district. People worship Goddess Durga here. It is believed that Goddess relieves people from many skin diseases especially from Chickenpox. Many people visit the temple during Navratis.

    Sheetla Mata Temple - Una
    Sheetla Mata Tmple – Image credit – Ishant Sharma
  8. Ancient Shiv Mahadev Temple: This is an ancient temple located in Kotla Kalan which is about 5 km from Una. Lord Shiva is worshipped here and the temple is famous for Lord Shiva’s statue which about 84 feet in height.

 

Note: As you visit these sacred temples and seek blessings from our gods and goddesses, please show your true devotion by keeping the surroundings clean—do not throw garbage anywhere, use dustbins, and help maintain the purity of these holy places; together, let’s protect our temples and keep our country clean and beautiful. ????✨

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Kushika
I am a content writer from Himachal Pradesh, who is in love with nature. I am a Biotechnologist and am passionate about landscape as well as wildlife photography. I also love exploring new places and be part of new adventures. I am also a foodie and love listening to music.

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