The ancient temple of Trilokinath is situated on the left bank of river Chander Bhaga in village Tandi: district Lahaul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. On the Keylong Udaipur highway, as one crosses the bridge over river ChanderBhaga there is a link road leading to the temple. The temple is situated at a height of 2760 Mt above sea level.
The temple is devoted to Lord Shiva, as per the ancient legends, once lord Shiva came to this place for meditation but when his wife goddess Parvati could not find him anywhere, she along with Rishi Narad came here in his search and woke him up from his mediation. On this the lord showed them his three Veerat Swaroopa since then the place came to be known as Trilokinath, the Lord of three Worlds.
The temple is built entirely of stone in Shikhara style and has been a prominent place of devotion for Hindus. The exact time of the construction of the temple is not known but it is believed to be constructed in 7th century. Later as the area came under Buddhist influence the temple was transformed into Buddhist shrine by Guru Padamasambhava in 8th century.
The temple has a six-armed statue of lord Trilokinath also known as Avlokiteshvara by the Buddhist devotees. There is a huge Dharama Chakara made of bronze installed in the temple. A small idol of Nandi, bull of lord Shiva is placed in the courtyard of the temple along with the Shiva Lingam. Two pillars names Punya and Papa meaning good and bad deeds, are installed at the entrance of the main temple. It is believed that people who have pure heart can only pass through these pillars, if a person carries ill feelings, gets struck in-between these pillars irrespective his / her size.
In the month of August three days festival of Pauri is celebrated in the temple by Hindus as well as Buddhist. Trilokinath is the common pilgrimage travel for the followers of both the religion.
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