Prahlad Kund & Narsingh Temple in Hindaun City

Roads are full of stories and mysteries as well. You only need to take a turn. Likewise taking a turn to Hindaun City on this road to Kaila Devi. 

When you drive to interiors to explore offbeat spots, importance of tourism promotion towards overall development is realized. 

Known for stonework and approx. 250 km. from Delhi, Hindaun City is one of such places. Lakhs of people/ devotees bypass through this place to visit the sacred Kaila Devi Mandir. However, no-one thinks about exploring this city or stopping for a lunch. Simple reason ZERO awareness about existing tourist spots and perfect APATHY from local administration towards promotion of the spots. Let’s have a look at couple of spots which we got to know from the locales when we stopped here for having freshly brewed गन्ने का जूस (Sugarcane Juice).

 

Little we knew that we were about to visit a spot dating back to the times of Bhakt Prahlad. It took around 10 minutes to reach Prahlad Kund from the main road. Narsingh Temple at Prahlad Kund premises is believed to be the spot where the fierce demon Hiranya Kashyap was killed by नरसिंह भगवान to save Prahlad. 

An old temple and a tank, though in ruins caught notice but the nearby landscape provided an option for some light trekking. The present statue of Narsingh Bhagwan inside the temple is believed to be the spot where Narsingh Bhagwan had sat by taking the demon Hiranya Kashyap on to his laps and executed the demon with his claws. There after rule of Dharma was restored on Earth. Subsequently a temple to worship God Narsingh and a water tank to respect Bhakt Prahlad was constructed here.

Let’s have a look at the premises, which despite being such a significant connection to our past is lying in ruins:

God Narsingh is the 4th avatar of God Vishnu incarnated in the form of a half man and half lion. Prahlad was son of Hiranya Kashyap and an ardent devotee of God Vishnu.

  

The exploration didn’t end here at Prahlad Kund. Opposite to Prahlad Kund is another spot, “Jachcha ki Bawdi”. 200 ft x 200 ft x 100 ft. deep, this massive stepwell with approx. 5000 steps was constructed in 14th century. Have a look –

Legend says despite digging the stepwell up to 100 ft. somehow there was no trace of water. On this a revered Sadhu (saint) advised if a pregnant woman delivers a baby in the bawdi premises, the water will appear. So, after a woman delivered here in the premises, water appeared in the stepwell and till date water in the bawdi has not dried. When the stepwell was cleaned by local administration a statue of a female lying with a child was located, which gets visible as and when water level goes down in the bawdi.

 

Pregnant woman is called as Jachcha (जच्चा) in Hindi, so that is how the stepwell got the name, Jachcha Ki Bawdi (जच्चा की बावड़ी).

 

Facts about Hindaun City, as told by the locales:

# - In सतयुग (Satya Yug) during times of Hiranyakashyap was known as Hiranyakarn Van.

# - In द्वापर युग (Dwapar Yug) was known as Hidimb Van (हिडिम्ब  वन) due to demon Hidimb who used to live here. Hidimb was killed by Bheem. And subsequently Hidimba, sister of demon Hidimb got married to Bheem.

Subsequently with the time, pronunciation changed from Hidimb Van (हिडिम्ब  वन) to Hindaun. That's how languages transform over times. 

Exciting, to sum up this trip to Kaila Devi via Hindaun City in a word. However, we need to preserve our heritage. Hopefully travelers visiting these spots will invite actions from the local administration to work on restoring the glory of such spots. 

Keep exploring folks.