Hidimba Devi Temple, also known as Dhungari Temple and Hadimba Temple, is located in Manli, a hill station in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is a prehistoric cave temple dedicated to Hidimbi Devi, the wife of Bhima, a character in the Indian epic Mahbhrata. At the foot of the Himalayas, the temple is surrounded by a cedar forest known as Dhungiri Van Vihar. The sanctuary is built on top of a massive rock that protrudes from the ground and was worshipped as an image of the deity. Maharaja Bahadur Singh built the structure in 1553. Hidimba Devi Temple stands 24 metres tall.
Maharaja Bahadur Singh constructed the Hidimba Devi temple in 1553 CE. The temple was built around a cave where Devi Hidimba meditated. Hidimbi was thought to have lived there with her brother Hidimb, but little is known about their parents. Hidimba, who was born into a Rakshasa family, vowed to marry someone who would defeat her brother Hidimb, who was said to be very brave and fearless. When the Pandavas were in exile and visited Manali Bhima, one of the five Pandavas defeated Hidimb. Hidimba then married Bhima and gave birth to their son Ghatotkacha.
The Hidimba Devi Temple has intricately carved wooden doors as well as a 24-meter-tall wooden "shikhar," or tower, that towers above the sanctuary. The tower has three square timber-tiled roofs and a fourth brass cone-shaped roof at the top. The main door carvings are based on the earth goddess Durga. Animals, foliate designs, dancers, scenes from Lord Krishna's life, and Navagrahas are also depicted. The temple's foundation is made of whitewashed, mud-covered stonework. The temple's interior is dominated by a massive rock, with only a 7.5 cm (3 inch) tall brass image of the goddess Hidimba Devi visible. A rope hangs down in front of the rock, and legend has it that in the past, religious zealots would tie the hands of "sinners" to the rope and then swing them.
A shrine dedicated to Goddess Hidimba's son, Ghatotkacha, who was born after she married Bhima, is located about seventy metres from the temple. The most surprising feature of the temple, or what believers might call the most reassuring feature of the temple, is that the imprint of the Goddess's feet carved on a block of stone is worshipped inside the temple.