#ShivMandir, #Manikaran, #HimachalPradesh Manikaran is located 35 km from Bhuntar, near Kullu. Legend has it that once #LordShiva and his divine consort Parvati were wandering in this sublime environment. Shiva liked the place and started meditating. Meanwhile, Parvati started taking a bath in the blue waters. While she was playing in the water she lost a jewel from her ear ring her earring. Shiva was enraged when he could not get find the jewel in the water and started doing Tandav, his dance of destruction. The atmosphere grew tense and Shiva threatened a large serpent swimming in the swirling waters as he figured he had stolen the beautiful jewel from Parvati's ear ring. (As you may know serpents and dragons are often depicted in Tibetan art holding a jewel in their mouth.) However the serpent gladly fished the jewel out from the waters. Thus the river came to be known as Parvati and the place was called Mani (jewel) Karan (ear). Manikaran Sahib, Hot Springs, Temple Side View In another version the mountain - locked area, the lush green patches and the forests of Mani Karan charmed Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati so they decided to stay there for sometime. For long eleven hundred years they remained at this place. At one time, when the Lord was relaxing with the Goddess, in the beautiful waters of a stream running by the side, the 'Mani' (Jewel) in an ear-ring of the goddess dropped somewhere. Parvati was much distressed and there was a thorough search but efforts to find out the jewel failed. Lord Siva got enraged, as a result of which his third eye opened. With the opening of the third eye of the Lord Siva, a very ominous event, there was a great commotion, all over the universe. In order to subside the anger of Lord Shiva, Shesh Nag hissed and hissed, as a result, there was a flow of boiling water continuously, which passed over the area and out came a large number of the precious stones.