User:Goldholk

Kunihar
Kunihar (princely state), a beautiful valley situated between mountains in Solan district (H.P.). Also known as "Hatkot" and "Choti Vilayat" (small foreign).It is named as Kunihar by the Late Rajiv Gandhi when he found a small valley is surrounded by a small river "Kuni" in shape of garland "Har" so he named it as "Kunihar" during his visit.

Location
Kunihar is situated 42 km from Shimla (going on the way to Jubarhatti Airport) and 40 km from Solan (going via Subathu).

History
हिमाचल प्रदेश के जिला सोलन में कुनिहार एक चोटी से रियासत थी | यह रियासत सवें मुल्ख के नाम से भी प्रसिद्ध थी | यदि छोटी विलायत के नाम की कान में पड़े तो भी मानस पटल पर कुनिहार का नक्शा उभर जाता है | चारों ओर पार्वतीय शैल मालाओं की हरित घाटियाँ, पर्वतीय श्रंखलाओं के ढलानदार शिखर था ऊतुंग शिखरों पर बने देवी-देवाताओं के मन्दिर आज भी आस्था-परक कुनिहार जनपद के धर्मिक निष्ठा की कहानी के साक्षी हैं | इतिहास के यदि स्वर्णिम अतीत के पन्नों को उलटें तो पता चलता है कि १५ अप्रैल १९४८ से पूर्व बघाट, बघाल, बेजा, महलोग, कुठाड़, हण्डूर(नालागढ़) और कुनिहार लोयर - महासू का अभिन्न हिस्सा थे | ब्रिटिश साम्राज्य के समय और उस से पूर्व कुनिहार पर १०वीं शताब्दी के पास अखनूर जम्मू से आए सूर्य वंशी परमार राजाओं का शाशन रहा और १५ अप्रैल १९४८ को छोटी रियासतें हिमाचल प्रांत के रूप में उभरती हुई मान - चित्र पर सामने आईं | कुनिहार जनपद के अन्तिम शाशक राणा हरदेव सिंह थे |

Detail about Raj Gharana
Founded in 1154''' by Abhoj Dev, a Raghubansi Rajput from Akhnoor/Aknur in Jammu. Previous rulers were:''' ''Rai KESHO DEV fl.1600

Rai ANANT DEV 1763/1795, born 1715, married and had issue. He died 1795.

Thakur ANANT DEV (qv) Thakur MAGGAN DEV 1795/1816, born 1752, confirmed in his state with the title of

Thakur by a sanad of 4 September 1815, married and had issue. He died 1816. Thakur PURAN DEV (qv)

Thakur PURAN DEV 1816, born 1769, married and had issue. He died 1816.

Thakur KISHEN SINGH (qv)

Thakur KISHEN SINGH 1816/1866, born 1803, married and had issue. He died 1866.

Thakur TEGH SINGH (qv)

Thakur Bishan Singh, married and had issue. He died 1876.

Kunwar Bir Singh Kunwar Hira Singh

Thakur TEGH SINGH 1866/1905, born 4 August 1834 (1836), succeeded 1867 (#1), married and had issue. He died 7 October 1905.

Tikka Shib Singh Thakur HARDEV SINGH (qv)

Kunwar Gopal Singh, born 1901. Thakur HARDEV SINGH 1905/-, born 26 August 1898 (1899), married and had issue.

Thakur VIJAY SINGH, born 1931, married Rani Lalita Kumari, daughter of Raja JAGAT DEV SINGH of Poonch, and had issue.

Tikka Ajay Singh, born 9 July 1956 at Dehra Dun, Uttaranchal, married June 1995

Raj Kumari Bhavna Kumari, born 12 November 1969 at Chandigarh, daughter of Rana NARENDRA SINGH of Kotkhai.

They were both killed in an automobile accident on 3 March 1996.

Kumari Versha Kumari Kunwar Sanjay Singh.''

People
Main religion : Hindu

AREA: 18 km2

ACCESSION: 15 April 1948

Main Attraction
Shiv Tandav Gufa

There are a number of mythological tales and legends surrounding Lord Shiva. Here're a few popular ones...

The Ganges Comes Down To Earth

A legend from the Ramayana speaks of King Bhagirath who once meditated before Lord Brahma for a thousand years for the salvation of the souls of his ancestors. Pleased with his devotion Brahma granted him a wish. He requested the Lord to send the river Ganges down to earth from heaven so that she could flow over his ancestors' ashes and wash their curse away and allow them to go to heaven. Brahma granted his wish but asked him to pray to Shiva, for he alone could support the weight of her descent. Accordingly he prayed to Shiva and he allowed the Ganges to descend on his head, and after meandering through his thick matted locks, the holy river reached the earth. This story is re-enacted by bathing the linga.

Why Shiva Is Worshipped In His Phallic Form According to another legend, once Brahma and Vishnu, two other deities of the holy Trinity, had an argument as to their supremacy. Brahma being the Creator declared himself to be more revered, while Vishnu, the Preserver, pronounced that he commanded more respect. Just then a colossal lingam, known as Jyotirlinga, blanketed in flames, appeared before them. Both Brahma and Vishnu were awestruck by its rapidly increasing size. They forgot their quarrel and decided to determine its size. Vishnu assuming the form of a boar went to the netherworld and Brahma as a swan flew to the skies. But both of them failed to accomplish the self- assumed tasks. Then, Shiva appeared out of the lingam and stated that he was the progenitor of them both and that henceforth he should be worshipped in his phallic form, the lingam, and not in his anthropomorphic form.

The Tiger & The Leaves

Once a hunter while chasing a deer wandered into a dense forest and found himself on the banks of river Kolidum when he heard the growl of a tiger. To protect himself from the beast he climbed up a tree nearby. The tiger pitched itself on the ground below the tree fostering no intention to leave. The hunter stayed up in the tree all night and to keep himself from falling asleep, he gently plucked one leaf after another from the tree and threw it down. Under the tree was a Shiva Linga and the tree blessedly turned out to be a bilva tree. Unknowingly the man had pleased the deity with bilva leaves. At sunrise, the hunter looked down to find the tiger gone, and in its place stood Lord Shiva. He prostrated before the Lord and attained salvation from the cycle of birth and death.