RELIGIO Himachal is a beautiful amalgam of cultures and people. Multiple cultures bend and twist with one another in a grace that can not be seen anywhere else. The state is home to approximately 95.17% Hindus, 2.18% Muslims, 1.16% Sikhs, 1.15% of Buddhists, and 0.18% of Christians. The Hindu and Muslim population is almost equally divided inside the state, whereas Sikhs occupy most of the urban land. The Buddhists constitute of mostly tribal population living in the far north side of the state. Among the Hindus, Shaivism is the most widely spread cult worship of Lord Shiva. These have the highest numbers of temples. Rewalsar, an area in the Mandi district is known to be an important religious place for three major religions namely Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Hindus recognise it as the place with the seven rivers as mentioned in the Mahabharata, along with its reference in Skanda Purana as the place where Lomas rishi was blessed by Shiva with secrets of the magical land where gods abide in form of flowers and trees. The Sikhs know it as the sanctuary for the Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh when he went to the kings in the hills to seek help against the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Raja Joginder Singh built a gurudwara in 1930 to commemorate his visit. The Buddhists associate the place with their own mythological tale of Padmasambhava who was later known as the second Buddha. The legend has it that the king of Mandi had Padmasambhava burnt alive on a stake after he heard the rumour of him teaching the king’s daughter Mandarva the dharam which wasn’t allowed. The pyre was said to have burnt for almost a week and at the end, a lake appeared. The lake is now known as Tso Pema where after the fire, a lotus emerged with 16 year old Padmasambhava with Mandarva in his arms from within it.
5
