Vaishno Devi

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Not to be confused with Vaishnavi (Matrika goddess).
For the temple, see Vaishno Devi Temple.
A view of Vaishno Devi Bhawan

Vaishno Devi
Goddess of hills
Vaishno devi.jpg
Goddess Vaishno Devi
Other namesVaishnavi, Mata Rani, Ambe, Trikuta, Sherawali, Jyotawali, Pahadawali
Devanagariवैष्णो देवी
AffiliationSaraswati, Lakshmi, Kali
AbodeVaishno Devi Temple, Katra, India
MountLion
ParentsRatnakar and Samriddhi

Vaishno Devi (also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta, Ambe and Vaishnavi) is a manifestation of the Hindu Mother Goddess, Devi. The words "Maa" and "Mata" are commonly used in India for mother, and thus are often heavily used in connection with Vaishno Devi. Vaishnavi was formed from the combined energies of Kali, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.

Legend[]

Shrine board token from the 1990s, depicting mata Vaishno Devi.

According to the some people during the Treta Yuga (second yuga of Hindu cosmology), evil forces started to threaten the earth. To save herself, Bhumi the Earth Goddess, went to the Trimurti for help. While the three gods were helpless, their consorts — Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati (Kali) combined their forces and created a goddess named Vaishno Devi. After numerous battles, the goddess defeated evils and was ordered to stay on earth to protect it.[1]

—she is avatar of maa Durgā (shakti) her original consort is Lord Visnu. She is the future wife of kalki.

The Appearance of Vaishno Devi to Shridhar and the story of Bhairon Nat

It is said that Bhairon Nath, a famous Hindu Tantric, saw the young Vaishno Devi at an agricultural fair and fell madly in love with her. Vaishno Devi fled into Trikuta hills to escape his amorous advances, later she assumed the form of Mahakali and cut off his head with her sword in a cave.[2] Professor and author Tracy Pintchman narrates the story as, "About nine hundred years ago Vaishno Devi appeared in the form of young girl and commanded a Brahmin named Shri Dhar from the village Hansali (next to present day Katra) to hold a feast (bhandara) for local people near Bhumika stream. At the time of feast, Bhairon Nath, a disciple of Goraknath, appeared and demanded meat and liquor. But Vaishno Devi told him he would get only vegetarian food, since this was a Brahmin's feast. Seeing her, Bhairon Nath lusted after her. To escape him, she ran away stopping at various places on the trail up the Trikuta mountain. There places are now known as Banganga, Charan Paduka, Adi Kumari —the place where she is said to have remained for nine months in a cave, — and finally at Bhavana, the cave that is now known as her home. There taking the form of Chamundi (a form of Kali), she beheaded Bhairon Nath. His body held at the entrance to the cave, and his head landed further up the mountain at a place where a Bhairon Nath temple is now located. Bhairon Nath then repented, and the goddess granted him further salvation. In so doing, however, she laid down the condition that unless pilgrims coming for her darshan did not also get his darshan— that is, darshan of his head— then their pilgrimage would not be fruitful. Vaishno Devi later manifested into 3 small rocks (pindikas) and stays there till date. Shri Dhar began doing puja to the pindikas at the cave, and his descendants continue to do so even today".[3]

Professor and author Manohar Sajnani says, According to Hindu mythology, the original abode of Vaishno Devi was Ardha Kunwari, a place about halfway between Katra town and the cave.[4] It is said that when Bhairon Nath ran after Vaishno Devi to catch her. The Devi reached near a cave in the hill, she called up Hanuman and told him that I would do penance in this cave for nine months, till then you should not allow Bhairon Nath to enter the cave. Hanuman obeyed the mother's orders. Bhairavnath was kept outside this cave and today this holy cave is known as 'Ardha Kunwari'.[5]

Temple[]

Main article: Vaishno Devi Temple
The Vaishno Devi temple in 2008

The Vaishno Devi Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Vaishno Devi located in Katra at the Trikuta Mountains within the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.[6][7][8] The temple is one of the 108 Shakti Peethas dedicated to Durga, who is worshipped as Vaishno Devi.[9] It is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers of India. Every year millions of visitors visit the temple.[10][11] During festivals like Navaratri, the count even increases to one crore visitors.[12] Vaishno Devi Temple is one of the richest temples in India. Authors Michael Barnett and Janice Gross Stein says, "Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu has an annual income of about $16 million, mainly from offerings by devotees".[13]

The temple is sacred to all Hindus. Many prominent saints such as Vivekananda have visited the temple.[14]

Navaratri and Diwali are the two most prominent festivals celebrated in the Vaishno Devi Temple. The temple was included in the Jammu and Kashmir state government Act No. XVI/1988, and known as Shri Mata Vaishno devi Shrine Act. The committee nominated by the state government administers the temple and has nine members on its board.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Singh, Aruna Balakrishna (1 April 1971). Vaishno Devi. Amar Chitra Katha Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-81-8482-630-2.
  2. ^ Journal of Religious Studies, Volume 14. Department of Religious Studies, Punjabi University. 1986. p. 56.
  3. ^ Pintchman 2001, p. 60.
  4. ^ Manohar Sajnani (2001). Encyclopaedia of Tourism Resources in India, Volume 1. Gyan Publishing House. p. 158. ISBN 9788178350172.
  5. ^ Virodai, Yashodhara. "Story of Mata Vaishnodevi". newstrend.news (in Hindi). Newstrend Network Communication Pvt Ltd. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  6. ^ Rindani, Kirit (2016). Indian Himalaya: Story of a 100 Visits. Partridge Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 978-1482858860.
  7. ^ S. S. Negi (1998). Discovering the Himalaya, Volume 1. Indus Publishing. p. 429. ISBN 9788173870798.
  8. ^ Kuldip Singh Gulia (2007). Mountains of the God. Gyan Publishing House. p. 15. ISBN 9788182054202.
  9. ^ "Famous Durga temples in India for religiously inclined souls". Times of India. 5 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Vaishno Devi pilgrim footfall in 2019 lowest in 3 years: Shrine Board". Business Standard. 2 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Vaishno Devi likely to receive 8.5 mn pilgrims by Dec 31; highest in 5 yrs". Business Standard. 29 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Vaishno Devi-Bhairon Mandir ropeway service starts from today". Times of India Travel. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  13. ^ Michael Barnett; Janice Gross Stein (3 July 2012). Sacred Aid: Faith and Humanitarianism. Oxford University Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0199916030.
  14. ^ Dipankar Banerjee; D. Suba Chandran (2005). Jammu and Kashmir: Charting a Future. Saṁskṛiti. p. 61. ISBN 9788187374442.

External links[]

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