Mahasu Devta Temple 3.96

Mahasu Devta Temple,is located on the Tuini-Mori road at Hanol. The temple is dedicated to Mahasu Devta. Lord Mahasu is the chief deity of this area and is worshiped in Mahasu Devta Temple by the people of Hanol and nearby villages. It is the ancient temple of Mahasu Devta built in the 9th century. The temple was constructed in Huna architectural style initially but, over the ages, acquired a mixed style. It is included in the Archaeological Survey of India list of ancient temple in Dehradun circle, Uttarakhand.Mahasu Devta Temple is on the eastern bank of Tons River at Hanol village, near Chakrata, about 190 km from Dehradun and 156 km from Mussoorie.HanolThe name of the village according to the legend was kept after the name of Huna Bhatt, a Brahmin. It can also be derived from 'anal' meaning fire. Before mahasu arrived, this place was used for torturing offenders with the heat of fire by putting them in the hollow of a big drum, placed horizontally and heated from below. Earlier the place was known as Chakrapur, and it is said to be the place to which the pandavas escaped from laksha graha or the Lakhmandal on River Yamuna. The village is at an altitude of 1,050 m above M.S.L. on the left bank of River Tons earlier known as River Tamas (meaning short-tempered). No water can be drawn from it for irrigation purposes, because of its precipitous banks and deep gorges. It is for this reason the river is called Karam Nashini. According to another tradition, the water of River Tons are the tears from the eyes of Bhubruvanan.The temple village of Hanol is a sort of pilgrimage place for people living in vast areas in the mountainous parts of Uttrakhand, west of Yamuna River, The trans giri area of Sirmaur district and major part of Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh.