Vaishno Devi Temple
Vaishno Devi Mandir is one of
the holy Hindu temples dedicated to Shakti, located in the hills of Vaishno
Devi, Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Hinduism, Vaishno Devi, also known as Mata
Rani and Vaishnavi, is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess.
The temple is near the town of
Katra, in the Reasi district in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of
the most revered places of worship in India. The shrine is at an altitude of
5300 feet. The small town Katra is 50 kms from Jammu and serves as base camp
for those visiting the holy shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi in the Trijuta Hills. Ma
Vaishno Devi Shrine, which is 13 Km uphill from Katra, is covered by majority
of pilgrims by trekking. But there are other options available as well. You can
hire a Palki or take a pony ride. Every year millions of pilgrims pass through
Katra on the way to Shrine. A trip to the cave shrine is by far the most
important activity in Katra for Hindu devotees. Approximately 8 million pilgrims (yatris)
visit the temple every year and it is the second most visited religious shrine
in India, after Tirnumala Venkateswara Temple. The Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine
Board maintains the shrine. A rail link from Udhampur to Katra is being built
to facilitate pilgrimage. The nearest airport is Jammu Airport which has very
high flight frequency. All leading domestic airlines have their services to
Jammu Airport.
As per Hindu epic, Mata Vaishno
Devi was born in the south India in the residence of Ratnakar Sagar. Before the
birth of child, Ratnakar swears one day that he will not interfere in the
desire of child. The nick name of Ma Vaishno Devi was Trikuta. Afterward she
was called as Vaishnavi as she took birth from Lord Vishnu's family. At the age
of 9, she wanted her parents’ permission for doing reparation on the seaside.
Vaishnavi prayed to Rama, who was the form of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama gave the
name Vaishnavi to Trikuta and assured her that Lord Rama will take rebirth in
Kaliyuga and marry her as Kalki.
Meanwhile, Lord Rama asked
Vaishnavi to contemplate in the cavern established in the Trikuta Range of
hills, located in North India. Rama gave Trikuta a bow and darts, monkey’s army
and lion as her shield. Mata Vaishnavi determined to perceive 'Navratra' for
the success of Lord Rama in opposition to Ravan. Hence one reads the Ramayana
during the 9 days of Navratra, in remembrance of the above connection. Shree
Rama promised that the whole world would sing Ma Vaishno Devi's praise. Lord
Rama also said Trikuta was to become famous as Vaishno Devi and would become
immortal forever. The abode of Maa Vaishno devi is attaining huge pilgrimage
attraction due to Lord Rama's blessings to the goddess.
With the passage of time many
more stories about the Mother Goddess emerged. The other story is:
Shree-Dhar was an ardent
devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi. He resided in a village called Hansali, 2 km away
from the present Katra town. Once Ma appeared to him in the form of a young
bewitching girl. The young girl asked the humble Pandit to hold a 'Bhandara' (A
feast to feed the mendicants and devotees). The Pandit set out to invite people
from the village and near-by places. He also invited 'Bhairav Nath' a selfish
tantrik. Bhairav Nath asked Shri-Dhar how he was planning to fulfill the
requirements. He reminded him of the bad consequences in case of failure. As
Panditji was lost in worry, the Divine girl appeared and told Him not to be
despondent as everything had been arranged. She asked that over 360 devotees be
seated in the small hut. True to Her word the Bhandara went smoothly with food
and place to spare. Bhairav Nath admitted that the girl had supernatural powers
and decided to test her further. He followed the Divine girl to Trikuta Hills.
For 9 months Bhairav Nath was searching for the mystic girl in the mountains,
whom he believed was an incarnation of the Mother Goddess. While running away
from Bhairav, Devi shot an arrow into the Earth from which water gushed out.
The resultant river is known as Baanganga. It is believed that by taking a bath
in Baanganga (Baan: Arrow), a believer of the Mother Goddess can wash away all
his sins. The banks of the river, known as Charan Paduka, are marked by Devi's
foot imprints, which remains intact till date. Vaishno Devi then took shelter
in a cave known as Garbh Joon near Adhkawari where she meditated for 9 months
attaining spiritual wisdom and powers. Her meditation was cut short when
Bhairav located her. Vaishno Devi was then compelled to take the form of Maha
Kali when Bhairav tried to kill her. The manifestation of the Mother Goddess
took place at the mouth of the Holy cave at Darbar. The Goddess then beheaded
Bhairav with such sheer force that his skull fell at a place known as Bhairav
Ghati, 2.5 km from the Holy Cave.
In his dying moments, Bhairav
pleaded for forgiveness. The Goddess knew that Bhairav's main intention in
attacking her was to achieve salvation. She not only granted Bhairav liberation
from the cycle of reincarnation, but also granted him a boon, whereby every
devotee, in order to ensure completion of the pilgrimage, had to visit Bhairav
Nath's temple near the Holy cave after the darshan of the Goddess. Meanwhile
Vaishno Devi assumed the shape of a rock with three pindis (heads) and immersed
herself into meditation forever.
Meanwhile, Pandit Shree-Dhar
became impatient. He started to march towards Trikuta Mountain on the same path
that he had witnessed in a dream. He ultimately reached the cave mouth. He made
a daily routine of worshiping the 'Pindis' in several ways. His worship pleased
the Goddess. She appeared in front of him and blessed him. Since that day,
Shree-Dhar and his descendants have been worshiping the Goddess Mother Vaishno Devi
Places to visit near Vaishno Devi Temple:
Banganga: This is the holy river known as Ganga.
The chilled water of the river comes across the big hills allows pilgrims to
take bath and move further.
Geeta Mandir: The next temple for a devotee is Geeta
Mandir.
Charan Paduka: Charan Paduka means foot
signs, and devotees can watch the signs of foot of Mata Vaishno in this temple.
Adhkuwari: this is the holy place again near to
Katra, and visitors can visit the goddess temples at this place. This is also
the beginning point of Mata Vaishno Devi Journey. Visitors can have food items
at this spot and can enjoy the beautiful nature view. Lots of facilities such
as medical aid, drinking water, free accommodation, blankets and many other
services are available at Adhkuwari.
Sanjhichhat: visitors will see lots of natural views
from different spots, and Sanjhichhat is one of them. This is the spot from
where people can hire the helicopter to reach the temple without difficulties.
The beautifully designed spot is the attractive place for visitors.
Ample of bhawan are developed
near Mata Vaishno Devi's temple so devotees can take a rest in these bhawan
before continuing the journey.
Reaching Ma Vaishno Devi Mandir
Lots of facilities are provided
to the devotees by the concerned board of Mata Vaishno temple. So tourist can
enjoy the natural beauty, as well as they can get blessings of Mata by visiting
the temple.
By Air: closest airport to
Vaishno devi is Jammu, which located at just 50 km distance from Katra. Jammu
is properly linked with lots of major airports of India such as Delhi, Srinagar
and Ladhakh. Frequent flights of various domestic and international companies
are available to reach Jammu.
By Train: closest station is
Jammu and proper trains are available from various parts of the country. A
direct train from Trivandrum is biggest route which connects the Jammu through
numerous states of country.
By Bus: The JKSRTC (Jammu &
Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation) buses are available for tourist to
reach Jammu from where they can easily reach through taxi or other sources to
Katra. Deluxe buses are also available for devotees to reach Katra and start
their journey.
