The Hemis festival is dedicated to Lord Padmasambhava (Gur Rimpoche) venerated as the representative reincarnate of Buddha. He is believed to have been born on the 10th day of the fifth month of the Monkey year as predicted by the Shakia Muni Buddha
Towards the end of the reign of Rajadhiraja Chola, he sacked the Western Chalukyan capital Kalyanapuram and assumed the title Kalyanapuramgonda Chola and performed a Virabhisheka under the name Vijaya Rajendra Cholan.