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.
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