Raghunath Temple, with seven shrines each with its own Sikhara

Sikhara

Śikhara, a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India. Sikhara over the sanctum sanctorum where the presiding deity is enshrined is the most prominent and visible part of a Hindu temple of North India.In south...

, is one of the largest temple complex of north India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

, located in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

.

The temple was built during the period 1835-1860 by Maharaja Gulab Singh

Maharaja Gulab Singh

Maharaja Gulab Singh was the founder and first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the second largest princely state in British India...

 and his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh

Ranbir Singh

General Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Ranbir Singhji, Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Mushir-i-Khas-i-Kaiser-i-Hind GCSI, CIE, Kaiser-i-Hind was the son of Maharaja Gulab Singh, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and head of the Jamwal Rajput clan.The trans-Himalayan territories...

. The presiding deity is Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

, an Avatar

Avatar

In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

 of Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

 & the Dogra's patron deity while the surrounding Temples are dedicated to various Gods and Goddesses connected with the epic Ramayana.

Deity, the temple and rituals

The presiding deity of Raghunath Temples is Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

, called Raghunathji, the Dogra's patron deity. The idol was brought from Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama. There are many galleries with lakhs of Saligrams. The surrounding temples are dedicated to various Gods and Goddesses connected with the epic Ramayana. The temple is also renowned for its depiction of the Rama Lila and Krishna Lila in paintings. The inner sanctums of the temples contain gigantic statues of Gods and Goddesses, numerous lingams and contains representatives of almost the entire Hindu Pantheon including mages of Vishnu in various incarnations, Siva and Surya.

Daily rituals comprise of a sacred bath, intricate floral decoration and worship of this principal deity of Kullu.

The religious life style of Kullu valley revolves around this sacred idol of Raghunathji. During Kullu Dussera festival in october, the statue of Raghunathji, of the valley, is ceremonially brought down to the valley from the mountains. The God stays in state in the valley for a week, along with other gods who are also present in their festive palanquins. The highlight of the fair is the dance competition held every evening. During this week long Dusshera Lord Raghunath becomes the hub of all religious fervor.

The temple is also renowned for its depiction of the Rama Lila and Krishna Lila in paintings.

Sanskrit Library

The Sanskrit Library here contains numerous rare manuscripts and the temple complex is remarkable for sacred scriptures, one of the richest collections of ancient texts and manuscripts in its library.

History

The temple was built by Raja Jagat Singh of Kullu, on advice of Bairag saing, Shri Kishan Dass ji paihari, who lived at Naggar.

Location

The Raghunath Mandir is situated right in the heart of Jammu on the bank of river Tawi and is bound by Udhampur district in the north and northeast , Kathua district in the east and southeast, Pakistan (Sialkote) in west and Rajauri district and POK (Bhimber) in the northwest.

Terrorist Attack

On 30 March 2002 when two suicide bombers attacked the temple. Seven persons including three security forces personnel were killed and 20 were injured. While the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

s were performing puja in the temple complex on 24 November 2002, fidayeen attack by terrorists took place, when two suicide bombers stormed the temple which resulted in the deaths of 13 devotees and injuries to several devotees.

The militants hurled grenades in the nearby Hari market to divert the attention of the security forces and gain entry into the temple. They blocked the three escape routes from the temple. The flush-out operation lasted two hours. Emotions ran high in the market and huge crowds thronged the near-by streets. Police found it difficult to control the enraged people. Before the people could gain in strength, another group of militants attacked the Shivalya Mandir. It is possible that they simultaneously entered the temple but opened fire a little later than the attackers did in the Raghunath temple.