Masroor Rock Cut Temple

The Masroor Rock Cut Temple is in Masroor (also spelled Masrur) in Kangra Valley which is 32 km from Kangra city in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh state of India.

Location[edit]

The temple complex is located at Coordinates: 32°4'21"N & 76°8'13"E in Kangra Valley as seen on the map.

Temple Complex[edit]

The Masroor Rock Cut Temple, also known as Himalayan Pyramid and Wonder of the World, is an 8th-century monolithic rock cut temple complex of 15 temples carved out of a single rock, the temple in the center is carved inside, rest of the 14 temples (7 on either side of the central temple) are carved only on the outside, are reflected in the pond carved in front of these temples. According to a myth this beautiful rock cut temple was carved out of one single stone. The Pandavas resided here during their long exile from their kingdom. In one of the areas of the temple there is a dungeon with a half built staircase. The local myth suggests that the Pandavas had unfolded the secret to build the stairway to heaven, but on the condition that the stairway should be built before the early morning hours. Lord Indra (the king of Heaven) was worried about this as upon the completion of that staircase the heaven would be accessible to all earthly beings without the Lord Indra's discretion. He disguised himself as a rooster and crowed loudly before the early dawn. The Pandavas upon hearing the rooster crowing thought that they were unable to complete the stairway before the early morning. They left the stairway uncompleted. One can still see that uncompleted staircase at Masroor. ^[2]^[3]