Dholbaha

Dholbaha, situated in a picturesque valley at the foot of the Shiwaliks, is 30 kilometers to the northwest of Hoshiarpur. It is approachable by a metalled road from Hariana (14 km) of which it forms the terminus.

Local tradition associates the place with the legendary King Dhol. Archaeology has pushed back its antiquity to the Pleistocene period when Stone Age man roamed up and down the terraces and hillocks of the valley looking for food, water and shelter. Another tradition is that the name 'Dholbaha' is derived from 'Dharvalavaha' (white rivulet), which symbolizes the crystalline water of a gently murmuring stream winding its way along the silvery bed of glittering sand.

Dholbaha is known as an ancient-temple-town. The place continued to prosper throughout the early medieval period (700-1200 A. D.) when it saw, like the rest of India, a most brilliant flowering of temple-building and sculptural art. A large number of amalakas (massive crowning stones and temple spries) now rest on the ground around Dholbaha along with many half-buried walls, plinths, and other architectural pieces which establish the one time presence of several temples around the area.

Perhaps, its oldest sculpture is a head of Vishnu roughly datable to the (7th-8th century CE). The most beautiful is, again, a head of Vishnu from the 10th century. Some other important pieces are a reclining Ganesha, Shiva-Parvati seated on Nandi Mahishasuramardini, female figures or couples adorning sections of architraves and a statue depicting four Juna images seated back to back. Most of the sculptures are carved in sandstone, but granite was used, as well.

These are exhibited in the museum maintained by the Archaeology Department, Punjab, in the premises of the Vishveshvaranand Institute, Sadhu Ashram at Hoshiarpur. There is also a museum at Dholbaha, where some of the artifacts excavated from here are on display to visitors. There is also a Mahisharsuramardini temple, which is stated to be more than 500 years old, and another temple in the name of a consort of Shiva, Mansa Devi. Mansa means wish - something desired by one's man (mind).

There is, in fact, a Shiva temple here said to have been constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The story goes that once the Maharaja, leading an expedition to Kangra, passed through this place only to have his advance checked by the spiritual powers of Maharaja Shital Giri. It was out of reverence for the saint that the Maharaja built the Shiva temple. By the side of the temple, there is a samadh of Shital Giri.

Many Sikhs, even Guru Nanak Dev., came from Hindu families whose linenage and names, often related to Hindu Dieties, date back hundreds, some would say thousands, of years. The names Kaur and Singh were added to Sikhs names after the introduction of the Khalsa in 1699. Mata Mansa Devi (d. 1569) was the wife of the third Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das.