Religious Fair Time 7 Days  In February/ March Location Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh

Pilgrims carry flowers, milk, coconuts, and incense to consecrate as offerings to a Shiva deity. It is Mahashivaratri – the festival celebrating the marriage of Shiva and Goddess Parvati – and the Mela (fair) in Pachmarhi draws devotees from all over southern Madhya Pradesh and northeastern Maharashtra.

Mahashivaratri falls on the 13th or 14th night of Krishna Paksha (the waning period of the moon) in the Hindu calendar month of Phalgun. In the Gregorian calendar, the festival happens between mid-February and mid-March. However, the fair in Pachmarhi begins about a week before Mahashivaratri. The crowds build up over the days, finally reaching a crescendo on the date of the festival when the town swarms with devotees.

Things to See & Do

During the fair, markets are set up along the main streets and around all the Shiva temples in the region. At these places, one can buy a variety of items such as wooden handicrafts, clothes, toys, raisins, apricots, pedas, laddoos, jewelry, rosaries and prayer essentials. Many devotees camp in large grounds on the outskirts of the town and make daily excursions to various shrines. The large crowds marching towards the Shiva temples make the atmosphere heady with faith and devotion.

 Mahadeo

Located close to the foot of the Chauragarh mountain, Mahadeo is a huge cave. Inside, there is a naturally-formed small Shivalinga, a larger Shivalinga and idols of other deities. It is believed that a glimpse of the Shivalinga here can remedy various faults in one’s horoscope.

As there is a spring in the cave, water trickles from the sides and the ceiling, which devotees try to drink and sprinkle on themselves. The dripping water collects in a pool below. Bathing here is not permitted – the water is channeled to a reservoir below the cave, where pilgrims may take a dip.

Legend has it that Bhasmasur, a devotee of Shiva, wanted the power to turn anyone into ash by touching their foreheads. After a long penance, Shiva granted him the boon, only to discover that Bhasmasur wanted to test his powers on him first. The deity escaped through a tunnel and took shelter in a cave. To help him, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of the enchantress Mohini and with her charms, enticed Bhasmasur into putting his hand on his own head, thereby destroying him.

Bhasmasur Kund, the cistern where the demon set himself alight, is next to the entrance of the cave.

Mahadeo is about 10 km from Pachmarhi bus stand. The drive through forested hills is quite scenic. En route, you will find pilgrims walking to their destination. From near Forsyth Point, a dirt trail cuts through the forests till Mahadeo. It makes for an excellent hike, though proceed with caution at the intersections where the trail meets the road. Fervent devotees walk all the way from Pachmarhi and some, from as far as their villages!

During the fair, there is a huge line for darshan at all the Shiva temples in Pachmarhi and at the major ones, you might have to queue for hours

Chauragarh

The centerpiece of the fair is the Chauragarh mountain (1,330m), atop which is a Shiva temple. According to local myths, an ascetic known as Chaura did penance on the mountain for many years. Impressed by his devotion, Shiva appeared in front of him and said that his idol on the hill would henceforth be named after the sage. The deity accidentally left behind a trident, which inspired the practice of carrying trishuls as offerings.

Today, pilgrims make offerings that range from palm-sized tridents to ones that are as large as 10ft and weigh 150kg – a mammoth that requires at least six to seven people to haul. People address each other asbhagat or bhaktin (literally ‘devotee’), which builds an atmosphere of camaraderie. Cries of Har har Shambhe and Jai maa Parvati rend the air, inspiring people to forget their fatigue and carry on in the name of the lord.

From the base of the Chauragarh mountain, two paths go uphill – the left one goes through Gupt Mahadeo, a 30-feet-long, narrow natural cave. It has a Shivalinga and an idol of Ganesha. While hiding from Bhas-masur, Shiva took shelter here and later disappeared; hence the name Gupt Mahadeo (literally ‘concealed Shiva’). There is a small stream next to the cave.

All along the route, vendors peddle flowers, coconuts and other such offerings for the deity. You can also buy exotic herbs and medicines collected from forests. 

The pilgrimage also gives you a chance to sample the cuisine of the surrounding regions at its most authentic. The food is extremely cheap and keeps you thoroughly fortified for the tiring ascent. Along the trail, you will come across raisins (sold by the glassful), dried figs, roasted and boiled corn, bor (a kind of tart berry), seasoned chana (grams) and lobia (black-eyed peas). Enjoy generous helpings of spiced butter-milk and lemonade (made with a local variety of lemon) to wash away the fatigue. Young children hawkramkand, a kind of tuber that is considered holy as Lord Ram (the hero of the epic Ramayana) and his family supposedly subsisted on it during their 14 years of exile. Families set up stalls that serve besan ki roti (flatbread made of gram flour) with tamatar sabzi (a spicy tomato curry) or other vegetables. Make sure to carry lots of water as the higher you go, the less likely you are to find potable water.

The path from Mahadeo ascends gradually until the intersection with the uphill path from Nandiya village, located to the south of Chauragarh. Then, it suddenly becomes steep and constrained, which causes obstructions along the route – more than the incline, it is the thick crowds that can get exhausting. After ascending about 1,300 steps, you reach the top of the hill, where a barebones temple stands. The queue for the darshan of the deity snakes around the temple and can take hours to navigate on the day of Mahashivaratri. After a glimpse of the deity, people proceed to the courtyard where thousands of trishulsare stacked together, making for an impressive display. Taking a selfie here seems to have become a part of the pilgrimage rituals! If darshan is not a priority for you, skip the queue and go directly to the courtyard from the path where people are descending.

Atop the peak, the views of the thickly-forested mountain ranges are a treat for the eyes. As you descend, you will come across a smaller Shiva temple located in a cavern. Further ahead, you can get a photo taken with cardboard cutouts of the tendentious deity himself in one of the many makeshift studios.

The pilgrimage to Chauragarh is still far removed from the tourist trail and thus, is remarkably untouched by commercialism or organized religion – something that many fairs and festivals in India have succumbed to. Here, you can see devotion and camaraderie that has probably remained unchanged for hundreds of years and hopefully, will be so in the years to come.

A musician at the mela

Jata Shankar

Many devotees also make a trip to Jata Shankar, a subterranean grotto in a ravine. Like every other cave in Pachmarhi, this is also associated with the myth of Bhas-masur. As Shiva ran through the cave, he lost some of his hair; hence the name Jata Shankar (jata – hair, Shankar – Shiva).