When Jagannatha Comes Calling in Sunder Nagar (Suket)

Pangna Palace

Suket was a small princely state, part of the now Mandi district, with its capital at Sundar Nagar. It is one of the oldest surviving lineages of India, going all the way back to 765 AD. Interestingly, Suket, Mandi, Keonthal and Kashtwar (in Chenab valley region of Jammu) all had lineages related to each other. They all descend from a common ancestor of the Sena dynasty of Bengal, of the Chandrabanshi line of Rajputs. Hutchison and Vogel point out that The descendarnts of the common ancestors were three brothers, named Vira or Bir-Sen, who became the Ruler of Suket, Giri-Sen of Keonthal and Hamir Sen of Kashtwar.

In 765, it is believed that along with his followers, probably Rajput adventurers like himself, Bir Sen crossed the Sutlej river and advanced into the interior, and defeated the then warring factions of Ranas and Thakurs, thus lording over them. Eventually, Bir Sen selected a site in the Surhi ilaqa, at 5,000 ft. above sea level, called Pangna, where he built a palace, and made it the capital of the State. The Pangna palace is still in a good state of preservation,and houses temples of the deities Mahu Nag and Chindi Mata, both of whom the royal family prays to even now. Interestingly, the fort is reminiscent of Japanese castles and forts of the Tokugawa era.

An interesting thing about Suket is the presence of a Radha Krishna Temple that came up over 340 years ago. Here, Krishna is worshipped in the form of Lord Jagannath as in the Puri, Odisha tradition. As per Beotra's Gazetteer of Suket State (1927), this temple in Nagar town has an interesting history to it. A Bairagi faqir came here from Jagan Nath on the coast of Orissa, carrying an an idol of Jagan Nath made of sandal wood and the Suket Court hearing that he wished to sell it offered him Rs. 500 for it, but he refused the offer, saying that he was taking the idol to Kullu, whose Raja promised him Rs. 1,000. By chance the faqir died before he could set out for Kullu, and consequently the idol was, by the Raja's order, placed in the buildings previously used as a seraglio. He appointed
pujaris to the temple and granted land for its maintenance, spending Rs. 500, the price of the idol, on the funeral ceremonies of the Bairagi, and built the temple at State expense. The temple is managed by pujaris who belong to the Kondal gotra of Brahmans. Interestingly, this temple carries out its own ratha yatra like the Jagannatha temple of Puri, Odisha. A description was thus given by Beotra:

Rath Yatra in 2015. Scale has Reduced today (courtesy: The Tribune, India)

" Jagan Nath is supposed to become angry with his wife in consequence of some misunderstanding. The pujaris are unable to explain how the quarrel arose beyond saying that this is an imitation of what is done at the temple of Jagan Nath in Orissa. The pujaris and others assemble, put the idol in a palanquin and take it to the Jungambag garden on the Ghangal Khad, one mile from the town, and stay there for a day. Food is prepared in the garden and served to those who accompany the procession or arrive during the day. There is an idol of Ram Chandra in the garden and Jagan Nath pays a visit to it, cardamoms and nuts being distributed. On the third day Lakhshmi, the wife of Jagan Nath, goes to the garden and is reconciled with Jagan Nath.
The idol is then brought back, and placed in its temple where arti is performed. Then Jagan Nath is taken to the Jungambag garden, the procession is attended by the State officials, elephants and horses forming the retinue. Other people, with drums, flags and palkis, etc., also join it. The idol is brought back in full retinue."