Adi Brahma Temple is located in Khokhan village in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. The temple stands on a small hill overlooking the beautiful Beas Valley, surrounded by greenery and snow-covered Himalayan The present wooden temple structure of Adi Brahma at Khokhan is believed to have been built around the 14th century CE. However, worship at this sacred place is much older, and there is evidence that an earlier stone shrine from the 10th–11th century CE once existed here. Over time, the temple was renovated and strengthened, but the traditional Himalayan architectural style was preserved.
This temple is also historically important because very few temples in India are dedicated to Lord Brahma, the Creator among the Hindu Trinity. The Kullu valley has kept this rare tradition of Brahma worship alive for centuries.
The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Brahma, worshipped here as Adi Brahma, meaning “The Primordial or Original Brahma.” his sacred mohra (metal icon) made of astadhatu (eight-metal alloy) is regarded as extremely powerful. The deity is traditionally kept safely in a treasury (bhandar), and during important occasions, he is ceremonially brought to the temple and worshipped with rituals, music, and devotion.
Adi Brahma Temple is built in the traditional pagoda-style architecture of the Western Himalayas. The temple has multiple tiered roofs covered with wooden and slate roofing. The walls are made of stone and deodar wood, and the wooden beams and pillars are decorated with intricate carvings showing traditional Himachali craftsmanship.
The structure blends wonderfully with the natural surroundings and reflects the folk-temple style of the Kullu valley, where temples are living cultural and spiritual centers for the local communities.
Long ago, a Rajput widow from Batelu village was working in her field. Her six-month-old baby girl was lying nearby in the shade while she weeded the crop. Suddenly, a miracle happened. For a brief moment, the infant turned into a young maiden, took her mother’s hoe, dug into the soil, and brought out a sacred astadhatu mohra of Lord Brahma. Immediately after revealing the idol, the child returned to her normal baby form.
Realizing that this was a divine event, the mother took the sacred icon home, kept it in her grain storage area, and worshipped it daily with devotion.
When the Brahmins of Batelu village heard about the idol, they took possession of it, claiming ritual authority. Unfortunately, they did not worship the deity properly. They used a leather sacred thread and performed rituals with smoke from dung cakes and tobacco, which were considered ritually impure and disrespectful.
Because of this improper worship, Lord Brahma became angry, and as believed in local tradition, calamity struck the Batelu Brahmins. After this, Brahma chose to manifest himself at Khokhan, where he has been worshipped with purity, faith, and reverence ever sinceAdi Brahma is worshipped with traditional Himalayan rituals, folk music, drums, and processions. During local fairs and temple festivals, the deity is brought out in a palanquin (rath) and worshipped with great devotion.
The temple is also connected with the celebrations of Kullu Dussehra, when many valley deities participate in rituals and community gatherings. These festivals keep the living tradition of faith and culture alive in the Kullu region.
