Khokhan Explained

Khokhan
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:India Himachal Pradesh#India
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Himachal Pradesh, India
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: India
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Himachal Pradesh
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Kullu district
Government Type:Gram Panchayat
Leader Title:Pradhan
Unit Pref:Metric
Elevation M:1189
Demographics Type1:Languages
Demographics1 Title1:Official
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+5:30
Postal Code Type:PIN
Postal Code:175125
Area Code Type:Telephone code

Khokhan is a village in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh state, India. It is located close to the towns of Shamshi and Bhuntar in the Kullu valley. Administratively, Khokhan constitutes a Gram Panchayat, led by an elected Pradhan, in the Kullu block of the Kullu district.[1] [2] The village is located on east and north-east facing slopes, and most of the village receives abundant sunlight throughout the year.

This village is known for the Adi Brahma temple and the Khokhan Wildlife Sanctuary.

Adi Brahma Temple

The Adi Brahma temple is right above the Khokhan village. According to the historian O.C. Handa, the Adi Brahma temple has a four tier, pyramidal-style roof, in the 'hansakara' style. All in all, the temple is about 20m in height, from base till the top. Architectural as well as relic-based evidence at this site suggests that the present structure dates to the 14th century A.D., likely built by Raja Ban Sen (1301-1346 A.D.) of Mandi, on the site of an older, 'shikhara' style stone temple from the 10th-11th century A.D. This temple is a 'dehra' (resting place) of the deity Adi Brahma, whose moharas and 'rath' (palanquin) are placed in a 'bhandara' (treasury) across this mountain. Usually the dehra remains closed, and is opened only when the deity comes visiting, on his palanquin from the Bhandara.[3]

According to custom, the Adi Brahma deity, called Devta Adi Brahma, is considered as a brother to the female deities of two nearby villages: Jwala Mata of Shamshi and Naina Mata of Bhulang.[4] At a spur to the south of Khokhan village, there is a much more recent and smaller wooden temple of the deity Veer Nath. This deity is also related to the Devta Adi Brahma.[5]

There is also another temple for Adi Brahma, built in the same style, at Tihri in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. In local folk belief, the Adi Brahma temple of Tihri village is related to the Adi Brahma temple of Khokhan village.[6]

Khokhan Wildlife Sanctuary

The nearby Khokhan Wildlife Sanctuary is named after the Khokhan village.[7]

References

31.4167°N 93°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gram Panchayat Khokhan Contact Details Pradhan mobile Number . 2022-10-04 . www.ehimachal.in.
  2. Web site: Gram Panchayats District Kullu India . 2022-10-04 . en-US.
  3. Book: Handa . Om Chanda . Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples . Hāṇḍā . Omacanda . 2001 . Indus Publishing . 978-81-7387-115-3 . en.
  4. Web site: Official website for Kullu Dussehra . 2022-10-05 . en-US.
  5. Web site: Official website for Kullu Dussehra . 2022-10-05 . en-US.
  6. Web site: Aadi Purkha Temple, Tihri – Uttarsal Mandi . October 5, 2022.
  7. Web site: admin . Khokhan Wildlife Sanctuary – Wildlife Wing . 2022-10-04 . en-US.