DHARAMSHALA MAHANTA

Situated near the holy abode of Goddess Chintpurni, about 62 kms. from Una, Dharamshala Mahanta is a “matha”(priory) established by a solitarian Baba Nakodar Dass during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Baba Nakodar Dass who was a ‘Panchdevaupaska’ gave the pride of place to the worship of lord Vishnu. Miss Mira Seth in her book “WALL PAINTINGS OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS” states “ ’Mahanta’ Lakshmi Dhar the father of the present mahanta who died few years back has a ‘sanad’(grant) which is believed to have been given to his predecessors by emperor Aurangzeb in the ninth year of his reign, corresponding to A.D. 1667 .” A large number of devotees visiting Goddess Chintpurni visit Dharamshala Mahanta to pay their obeisance. A part from its historicity and religious importance Dharamshala Mahanta is known for its murals/wall paintings. There are two buildings of note. The style of paintings in one is entirely different from that of the other. The best and earliest paintings are found in what is known as the ‘baithak’ which happens to be the sitting room (6m X 4.75m) of one building. According to Mahanta Lakshami Dhar, the paintings were executed by a ‘mistri’(mason) in his grand father’s time, which would place them at about the end of the nineteenth century. Although most of the paintings have disintegrated but those which remain have a graceful charm of their own. The other building in the ‘matha’ is a small temple, the walls of which are also covered by wall paintings but having a clear impress of folk art on these paintings. But in comparison to the lyrically graceful wall paintings of the ‘baithak’ these murals are somewhat crude thus indicating that these are of a later origin. An ardent art-lover or a chance visitor having aesthetic sense immediately seeing the wall paintings of Dharamshala Mahanta realizes that these murals which depict the rich cultural heritage of the past are loosing its luster and richness of colors as the ravages of time are taking its toll very rapidly and the time is not far away when these will become almost non-existent.