Basanta Bhujel
UNESCO has called Tansen of Palpa a medieval settlement. Tansen’s culture, history, climate, and geographical location are captivating. From Tansen, you can see the mountains, the sunrise. There is neither winter nor summer in Tansen, which is waterlogged to the south. Few places in the world have such a favorable climate.
Just as the capital Kathmandu Valley is called the city of temples, so Palpa was once the city of temples. After the unification of Nepal, the monasteries in the capital Kathmandu were preserved, but the monasteries in the Palpa region built during the reign of Sen Raja were not preserved. Although most of the heritages built during the reign of the army king were destroyed, Palpa is an area of historical and archeological importance after the capital Kathmandu Valley. The Sen dynasty kings identified the Palpa region in South Asia as a stronghold of religion, politics, and diplomacy. Today, those same heritages have become a place of study, research, and observation for tourists.
Manimukunda Sen ruled Palpa from 1575 to 1610 B.C. At that time, the capital of Palpa state was in Bhairavasthan of Tansen. While King Manimukunda Sen was bathing in the river Kaligandaki, the stone of Rishikesh hit his forehead. On the same night, in a dream, the stone that hit me while taking a bath is mine. I am Bishnu Bhagwan. Manimukunda Sen built the Rishikesh temple at the confluence of the Kaligandaki and Ridi rivers. The only idol in the world made of the same black shaligram is the idol of the Rishikesh temple. Ridi is one of the four dhams of the Hindus. A 1,300-year-old religious history has been discovered in the Ridi area. The Puranas describe the Ridi region.
When the British tried to swallow Nepal, after the victory of the Nepalese, the temple of Bhagwati was promoted and protected. After the unification, the Palpa region has not been completely overshadowed. Rani Mahal and Argali Durbar are Rana’s heritage. Although the Argali Palace was destroyed due to lack of protection, the Rani Mahal is still adorned as the Taj Mahal of Nepal. Kali Gandaki is the only river in the world where Shaligram is found.
Ruru, one of the main pilgrimage sites in Nepal, has a lot of mythological history and significance. Rurukshetra, located between the border areas of Palpa, Gulmi, and Syangja, is important not only for pilgrimage but also for its history and archeology. Not only religiously, but tourists also come to Ridi for study. According to the Puranic scriptures, Devadatta Muni had attained Shivatva or Ashtasiddhi by doing penance in the Ruru region. His daughter Ruru Kanya also had a direct vision of Lord Bishnu by doing the same penance. In Sanskrit, deer is called Ruru. The name Ruru Kshetra is derived from the name of the girl who was brought up by the deer.
The idol of the Rishikesh temple has been worshiped as a manifestation of Lord Bishnu’s direct vision to Ruru Kanya. There is classical evidence that many sages, including Devadatta, Orb, and Vashishta, established ashrams and performed penance in the Ruru area. The Ruru region is considered a heritage of religious, historical, cultural, and archeological importance. In Ruru, that is, in Ridi, not only funeral rites, shraddha but also auspicious deeds such as marriage and bratabandha are performed for patriarchy. People from Dhading in the east to Pyuthan in the west reach the Ruru area to bury the dead.
The Rishikesh temple was rebuilt by Ranadatta Pandey in 1819 BS. There are also idols and temples of many deities including Radhakrishna, Bishnu, Rama, and Hanuman. According to the popular legend about the Ridi region, Bishnu destroyed Vrinda’s chastity and Tarakasur died in heaven. Saddened by this, Vrinda cursed Bishnu to sit on a stone, then Bishnu sits in Ruru as Shaligram. Similarly, the story of Rurukanya, who was born from the womb of a nymph sent by Indra for fear of the penance of sage Devadatta, is also connected with this region. The idol of Rurukanya is installed in front of the idol of Rishikesh.
Ridi River and Kaligandaki are mixed in Ridi. The confluence of the Kaligandaki and Ridi Rivers is called Ridi or Ruru area. Rurukshetra includes Arghali, Kuseni, Satyavati, Rudraveni, Aslewa and Veni villages. The glory of Ridi or Rurukshetra is found in Himavatkhand and Varaha Purana. Rurukshetra has a special significance as Shaligram is found in the form of Bishnu. The idol of Rishikesh is considered to be the most important of all the temples in Ridi.
Pilgrims visit the Ruru region in the belief that salvation will be achieved by bathing in Kaligandaki and worshiping at Rishikesh temple, Devdatta Rishi, and Rurukanya idols. In the Ruru region where the fair is held on Maghe Sankranti, Ruru Kanya was born by the austerities of Devadatta Rishi by penance. In the Ruru area, ancient Rishikesh temple, Bhrigutungeshwar Mahadev’s cave, Achammeshwar, Ruru Kanya temple i.e. Gulphool cave, Yagyamukteshwar Mahadev, Rudraveni, Manimukundeshwar Mahadev, Kanchaneshwar Mahadev, Laxminarayan temple, Ram Janaki temple, Rum Kanya’s cave The historic shrine is located in Ridi.
There is a cave called Bhrigutung on the north side near Ridi. It is believed that Lord Shiva was carrying the body of Goddess Sati in Bhrigutunga cave when his upper teeth fell out. Which is explained in Sriswasthani Mahatyamya. The place is especially crowded with pilgrims on Maghe Sakranti and Shivaratri. The cave called Bhrigutung belongs to the Syangja district. Pilgrims visiting Ridi also visit the Gulphool Cave on the Thorga side of the Gulmi district. Gulphoolgufa is located 500 meters above Ridi Bazaar. There are more than 100 temples and some caves in the Ruru area. Where daily worship is performed. The five-day Ridi Mela of Maghe Sankranti offers a variety of products, especially those produced from local rural areas. Thorgeli is also known for his knives. This knife made in Ridi’s Thorga will be exported to various places in the country and abroad
After Manimukunda Sen built the temple of Rishikesh in Ruru, Akshata became necessary for worship. Argali had all the land at that time. Under the direction of Manimukunda Sen Kai, a 3 km long ditch has been constructed from Kulung of Jorte river to Argali to produce paddy and make the temple in Rishikesh intact. There is a tunnel in Kulo about 1 km long. Which is popularly known as Rajkulo and Jethi Kulo. Nowadays, tourists come to various places to do historical research to see the stream taken from the middle of the rock by separating the part of the tunnel. The Argali tunnel was dug 467 years ago with tools like chino, kodala, and gal produced by the local Kaligarh. The eldest clan of Argali is historical. Nowadays, many tourists come to study the historical Kulo. Some tourists take photos in the tunnel of Kulo and enjoy entering the tunnel.
This tunnel is the pride of Nepal. Five hundred years ago, such technological structures were not built anywhere except in Nepal. Therefore, its history should be researched. How long did it take to build the culvert, even though it was directed by Manimukunda Sen? What kind of tools were used to build it? No human casualties during construction? Who designed Kula at that time? It is important to research such things.
Bhairavasthan is 9 kilometers west of Tansen. Bhairavasthan, situated on the top of a beautiful hill, is especially crowded with pilgrims on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The main feature of the Bhairav temple is the roti offered in the temple. Pilgrims offer bread made from mana or a pathi of rice flour. It is customary to offer the bread made in this way to Batuk Bhairab and Devi. Pilgrims who go to worship Bhairav make roti according to their wishes.
When Mukunda Sen I invaded Kathmandu in the course of expanding his kingdom, he brought a statue of Bhairav in Patangini and installed it. In Bhairavasthan, pagoda-style temple, Senkalin Prasad Blind Window, Rana period, Malla period architecture can be seen in one place. The temple is surrounded by a square. The square has Asia’s largest historic 16th-century golden trident and a Gajur made of Sen art. A statue of Bhairav has been erected on the upper floor of the temple. The idol is placed on the ground floor of the temple in the belief that Chief Bhairav should not be seen. There is a statue of Kali in another room on the ground floor. Worship in the temple of Bhairav is performed by yogis of the Goraksanath sect.
Ridi Bazaar on the banks of Kaligandaki was destroyed by the severe floods in 2018 BS. At that time, Reddy’s historical and religious heritage and great wealth were damaged. The houses, temples, pavilions, pavilions, and gardens built after the demolition have started giving beauty to Ridi. After the Kaligandaki Hydropower Project started generating electricity from Gandaki water by tunneling from Mirmi, Gandaki water in Ridi will be less and pilgrims will have to bathe only in the water of Veni and Ridi rivers flowing from Rudraveni. At present, Ruru village municipality has brought a plan to build a reservoir in Kaligandaki. On the other hand, a bridge connecting Syangja, Gulmi, and Palpa is also being built. After the completion of the plan, Ridi will be a destination not only for pilgrims but also for other tourists who enjoy the reservoir.
