A huge crowd of devotees gathered at Shirgul Temple on the occasion of Diwali

The age-old tradition of offering rice and walnuts continues even today.
Rajgarh, November 7. Thousands of devotees thronged the two-day fair held on the occasion of Diwali and Padai at Shaya, the birthplace of Himachal Pradesh’s famous deity, Shirgul Devta. During this time, large numbers of devotees from the Giripar region of Sirmaur district, Shimla, Solan, and the Jaunsar-Bawar region of the neighboring state of Uttarakhand, visited the temple and received the deity’s blessings.
A two-day fair is held annually on the occasion of Diwali at the Shirgul Temple Shaya. The speciality of this fair is that devotees place the highest importance on seeing and worshipping the deity. Devotees bring rice and walnuts as offerings and offer them at the deity’s feet. Devotees are given rice grains as prasad at the temple, which they preserve in their homes with reverence and faith. No cultural events or sports activities are organized at this fair, but the entire atmosphere is steeped in devotion and tradition.
The temple committee’s media in-charge and renowned litterateur Sherjang Chauhan said that Shirgul Devta appeared in this village and performed penance on the Chudhar mountain. He said that the temple is visited by devotees throughout the year, but the four major festivals of the year have special religious significance. Among these, Baisakhi i.e. Bishu’s festival, Shravan’s Hariyali festival, Diwali’s festival and Makar Sankranti i.e. Magh’s festival are prominent. Apart from this, a large number of devotees also come to visit the deity on the Sankranti of every month.
He explained that the Shirgul deity is widely revered in the Giripar region of Sirmaur, as well as in the upper regions of Shimla district, Solan, and the Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand. In these areas, Shirgul deity is worshipped as a family deity and a deity.
According to Sherjang Chauhan, the tradition of offering rice and walnuts to the Shirgul deity is centuries old and is still observed with great devotion. However, over time, devotees have also begun offering cash. He added that the Shaya Temple is rapidly gaining recognition as a religious tourist destination. This is why, in addition to local devotees, tourists and religious believers from outside the region are now visiting the temple for darshan.
He told that in this temple, langar is arranged for the devotees on other major fairs including Diwali and on Sankranti of every month, in which thousands of people take prasad.