01Chanda and Munda
The Devi Mahatmya tells how Kali sprang from the brow of Ambika and slew the asuras Chanda and Munda, and Ambika named her Chamunda for it. In the Kangra hills this ground is counted part of the Jalandhara Peetha, the field where Shiva slew the asura Jalandhara, and Shiva is worshipped beside the Devi as Nandikeshwar in a cave shrine under the temple. The older shrine, Adi Himani Chamunda, stands high on the ridge above; the temple tradition says the lower temple was set up some four hundred years ago when a raja and a priest were shown in a dream where to dig out the murti, so that the old and the weak could have darshan.
02By the Baner
The murti is kept covered in red cloth, and only the face is seen. Behind the temple the Baner runs over boulders, and pilgrims bathe at the ghat before darshan. The temple is under the Himachal government’s temple trust. The climb to Adi Himani Chamunda, a hard day’s walk up the Dhauladhar, is made by the devout in summer.
About 15 km from Dharamshala and 19 km from Palampur on the road between them; the nearest airport is Gaggal.
