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The geographic boundaries of Mahasu were born out of an
age-old legend and till the district was merged with other areas, the
'Mahasu District' existed till 1972.
Legend Of Mahasu
In an area rich with oral folklore, there are two stories told of Mahasu.
The first tale speaks of Una Bhatt, a learned Brahmin who lived in the
area and whose people were beset by a demon. As the demon ravaged the
countryside and devoured all humans, Una Bhatt made a stand, but could not
withstand the demon's power.
One night, Lord Shiva, the Destroyer in the Hindu Triad, appeared before
the Brahmin in a dream and told of four powerful brothers, known
collectively as the Mahasu. As embodiments of Shiva, they lived in Kashmir
and had the power to destroy the demon. Una Bhatt went to
Kashmir
only to be told by the Mahasu that they could not step out of Kashmir's
boundaries.
The Mahasu also told Una Bhatt that he should return to his village and
plough his fields till the plough turned to gold. The desperate Brahmin
rushed back to his village and began ploughing his field. Before the day
was over, the plough had turned to gold and its blade to silver - and in
the furrow lay five graven images. The images came alive as the four
Mahasu and their mother, Dulari. The Mahasu went on to destroy the demon
and are still worshipped in human form in the old district of Mahasu.
The Snake Deity
The 'Nag', the divine serpent, is worshipped in many forms in these
hills. The famous golf course at Naldehra is named after the 'Nag' ('Nal')
Devta, deity and even today, there is a temple on the links, dedicated to
him. The peak of Mahasu rises over the settlement of Kufri and along, or
just off the initial stretch of the Hindustan-Tibet Road, there are
temples dedicated to the "Mahasu Nag".
Another Legend
Another variation of the story presents the Mahasu in the form of a
powerful serpent. This story speaks of an old man who lived near the town
of Theog, where the Hindustan-Tibet Road was to later take its track.
Once, as winter had drawn its snow shrouds close over the hills, this old
man saw a snake slithering over the snow. Horrified at this unusual
phenomenon, he ran back to tell the villagers of what he had seen.
Within a few days, a young boy also saw the serpent and it was drinking
milk from the teats of a cow that belonged to a woman of the village.
Crying in fear and surprise, the boy ran to the village. Led by the boy
and the old man who had first seen the snake, the entire village came to
witness this strange and terrifying phenomena.
The woman, to whom the cow belonged, also came along and shouted in anger
at being deprived of the milk that was rightfully hers. The villagers
tried to calm her but to no avail. Screaming in anger, she went for the
snake with a stick but then, out of a faultlessly blue sky, a thunderbolt
struck the woman dead. Now all but dead with fear themselves, the
villagers finally raised their heads from the ground and saw that a golden
image of the serpent lay on the spot where they had last seen him.
The image was carried to the village and that night the old man who had
first seen the serpent had a dream. The serpent appeared before him and
said that he, Mahasu, was manifest in the serpent and bade the people to
build him a temple and worship him - and in return, Mahasu promised to
protect them for all time to come.
The original temple to Mahasu is said to be the one near Theog and a
later one lies at Fagu.