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Laxmi Narayan Temple is a major tourist attraction in and around Chamba. This is one of the oldest temples in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.
This temple was built by Sahil Varman in the 10th century. This temple is dedicated the Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, the two deities of Hindu religion. The temple is the best example of shikhara style of temple architecture. This temple has a vimana (Shikhara with Garbh Graha and a small Antralaya to go with it), and a mandap like structure. To protect from the snowfall the temple is equipped with wooden chhatries, a shell roof on the top of temple.
The temple has a legend associated with it. It is believed that in search of suitable marble to build Laxmi Narayan Temple eight of Raja Sahil Varma’s sons were killed. When the king sent his sons to bring marble to construct the idol of Vishnu, the marble they brought contained a frog in it. This was believed to be inauspicious. Again king sent his sons to bring marble but this time all his sons were killed on their way back. But the king still strived on his endeavour. He finally he sent his eldest son on marble hunt. The eldest son, whose name was Yugkara, was successful to bring the suitable marble with the help of some benevolent saint.
There are some other temples in the premises of Laxmi Narayan Temple, which is housed in a temple complex. These are temples dedicated to Radha Krishna, Lord Shiva, and Gouri Shankar. The temple has been continually maintained by the rulers succeeding the throne of Chamba. The scintillating metallic image of Garuda that is perched on the high pillar near the main gate was installed by Raja Balabhadra Varma. The gilded summit on the top of the temple was given by Raja Chhatra Singh. Later successors have also added a number of things that has enriched the temple.
To know more about Tourist Attractions in and around Chamba go to:
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