Historical Background_Judge's_Court_Pragpur

The Heritage Village Pragpur is embedded in the panoramic Kangra Valley that is steeped in lore and history. It is the home of the famous Kangra school of painting and probably the world's - most certainly India's - oldest ruling lineage comes from here. The area of Pragpur was part of the Principality of Jaswan whose chief, in the late 16th or early 17th century charged a band of learned men, led by a Kuthiala Sood, to find a suitable place to commemorate Princess 'Prag' of his royal lineage.

The Soods community claim to be Agnivanshis - born of a sacred fire. There are references to them in ancient Hindu texts like the Rig Veda. At the time when

enlarge

Simla was the summer capital of the British Raj, the Soods from around Pragpur owned more than half of it, and still continue to be the dominant community.

The site chosen for Pragpur lies in the shade of the Dhauladhar mountains - the white ranges - and is said to be so located as to receive the astral beneficial influence of prayers that have been offered for thousands of years in the vicinity at the three ancient SHAKTI (Primordial Energy) Temples of Bajreswari (Kangra), Jwalamukhi and Chintpurni.

300 year old Pragpur has retained the essence and flavour of an earlier era and remained unchanging. It was classified as a Heritage Zone in 1997.