Brajeshwari Devi temple in Kangra in one of the most visited temples in Himachal Pradesh, the hilly state n northern part of India. Brajeshwari devi temple is also known as Kangra Devi temple or Kangra Devi Mandir among various locals and the pilgrims. Mandir is word used in Hindi for temple. Some of the pilgrimages from the Uttar Pradesh or central India visiting the temple also refer to temple and Nagarkot temple reason being that Kangra was known as Nagarkot in the past.
Legends Associated with temple: According to Indian Hindu mythology, it’s said that the right breast of devi Satti fell here and making this place a Shakti Peeth. Devi Shakti sacrificed herself to the Yagna first for the honour of her Husbadn Lord Shiva. Saddened by this Lord Shiva carried the bdy of the goddess and started doing Tandav or Tandava (the dance of destruction). It’s said that in order to stop Lord Shiva from destrotying the universe Lord Vishnu interfered and cut down the into 52 parts(using his weapon Sudershan Chakra) that fell on various separate locations. All those place become places of worship or Shatki Peeths, Kangra Mandir or Brajeshwari Devi Temple is one of those 53 sacred places. Other legends associate with the temple say that thousands of years ago demon called Kalikala (Kalikut) used to trouble the sages. Thus for help the sages performed a Chandi Yagna to please the goddess however they forget to perform aahuti (offer ghee in the fire chanting Mantras) to the Indra (King of Devatas). Indra became angry and used his weapon Varja to stop the Yagna, terrified by this Sages asked devi for help and at the same time devi appeared and not only swallowed the Vajra but also killed the demon Kalikala. After that the Vajreshvari temple was established in this region.
Temple History: The current temple is more that thousand years old and was built in 1905 after the earth quake in the same year destroyed the temple completely. However it wasn’t the first time temple was destroyed; the Brajeshwari Devi Temple was known for its wealth of gold, silver, diamonds and pearls all over and thus invaded by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1009 and Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1360. Later it’s said that Mughal Emperor rebuilt the temple to its original glory. However according to historical writers the original temple is said to be built by Pandavas during the time of Mahabarta after the goddess ordered them to build the temple in their dream.
Temple has a unique architecture with three tombs and is surrounded by stone wall in a fort like structure. The main entrance gate has a drum house which is also known as Nagarkhana. Inside the main temple goddess Brajeshwari is worshipped in the form of pindi. Surrounding the main temple are other temples where other gods are worshipped like Bhairav temple. People say that whenever the town is in trouble the idol of Bhairav god gets sweat. Dhyanu bhagt’s idol is also there, during the Akbar’s time Dhyanu bhagat offered his head to the Devi.
Temple Festivals:
- Lohri or Makar Sakranti – During this time every year the Pindi of the goddess is covered with butter as an mark of history when gods used butter to heal the wounds of the goddess that she got while fighting the demon Mahishasur.
- Navratras: Temples also see a huge crowd during Navratris that are celebrate twice a year by Hindus.
- Datta Jayanti
- Holi
- Diwali
- Hanuman Jyanti
- Godhadebuwa Jayanti
- A huge fair in honor of Goddess Vajreshwari is also held every year on the new moon day of Chaitra month of Indian Hindu calendar. On the next day palki carrying the picture of goddess is taken out in the town.
How to reach: The temple is situated in the heart of the Kangra city, which is very well connected to the world whole year. Private and state government buses run daily to Kangra. One can also use taxis from the neighboring states to reach the temple. Nearest railway station Kangra is a narrow guage railway line also know as tourists as toy train. Nearest broad guage railway station is Pathankot which is around 100 kilometers from Pathankot you can take taxi, bus, small train (narrow guage – toy train) to reach the temple in 3 to 4 hours. Gaggal is the nearest airport which is about 13 kilometers from the Kangra town, however since there aren’t regular flights being operated so you may need to plan accordingly.
Best time to visit: Throughout the year you can visit the temple, however during Navratris you can see a huge crowd as pilgrims from all parts of the country visit the temple at that time of offer prayers.
Nearby places to visits: Kangra has many other pilgrimage and tourists destinations to offer like Jwala ji temple, Chintpurni Temples, Chamunda devi temple. Dharamshala and Palampur are popular trourist destinations. One must also not forget to visit famous Kangra fort, trekking to Jyanti Devi temple, famous rock cut temple of Masroor and Gupta Ganga fountain.
One important and lesser know thing about the temple I forget to share with you is that if you are facing any legal issue in any court then you can take oath at the oath stone near the front door of the temple and its guaranteed that you will get justice.
You can find more information about temples in India at http://www.indiatemples.co.in
