Jawalamukhi, Religious town in Kangra district, India.
Jawalamukhi is a town in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, sitting at an elevation of around 610 meters (2,000 feet). The settlement hosts a temple where nine natural flames emerge from rock crevices without any visible fuel source.
Firuz Shah Tughlaq destroyed the local temple during his 14th-century campaign against Nagarkot and carried more than 1,300 Sanskrit manuscripts to Delhi. These texts were then translated into Persian and placed in the royal library.
The temple houses nine flames representing Navadurgas, where devotees perform rituals with milk, water, and abhisheka throughout the year.
The temple sits in the center of town and can be reached on foot from the main market, with no admission fee. Visiting hours begin early in the morning and end after sunset, though festival days may see extended hours.
Emperor Akbar once tried to extinguish the flames inside the rock fissures by pouring water and earth into them, but the fire continued burning unchanged. Scientific studies suggest that underground methane gas rises through narrow cracks and ignites upon contact with air.
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