History, Importance, Timings, Festivals, Architecture, Pooja, Aarti Timings, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Chattarpur Mandir or Shri Aadya Katyayani Shakti Peetham, Delhi, India
Dedicated to Goddess Durga, the temple is situated in the downtown Gurgaon-Mehrauli road area of Chhatarpur, South Delhi, India. The temple is believed to be devoted to the sixth incarnation of Maa Durga, Maa Katyayani, also known as Shri Aadya Katyayani Shakti Peetham. The Goddess can be seen holding swami kartik who is also known as askand thus also named as askand mata. As the pujari deals with all the main rituals, aarti also believes that single girls can pray for the best partner by worshipping maa katyayani. As the Shaktism puts it, Goddess Katyayani is the creation of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu. She killed the demon Mahishasur, in her incarnation of Raudra Roop.
Established in 1974 by Baba Sant Nagpal and the temple also has his samadhi, which in Hinduism refers to when the human body leaves its soul that happened in 1998. The story revolves around the life of the founder himself who was born in Karnataka. At his very young age, he lost his parents and at the time of his mother’s cremation , a stranger woman took the devastated child to the nearby temple of Maa Durga and made him understand that she being the universal mother would always remain with him. From that very moment, the holy Goddess provided him shelter in her own shadow. At his end, he had always been a devotee and surrendered his life to Maa Durga. To him, she was the live reality and not just an entity in the form of a material figure with whom he used to be in communication and never did anything without her will.
Constructed by white marble in a very beautiful and mesmerising way including North and South Indian touch in the building and the latticed screen leave the spectators speechless by its beauty and the holy aura it is associated with. The work of marbles in chattarpur are a sight to eyes.Beautiful lawns and gardens with exquisite carvings enhance the experience of the devotees. It spread across 60 acres of land and one of the largest temple of India after the Akshardham Delhi.
Every day a morning aarti is performed by the priest at 4:00 am. Special aarti of Kumbhabhishekam during Navratri and another special arti takes place in Guru Purnima. The temple has the Holy Peepal tree which is also a main attraction as pilgrims tie threads and bangles with the belief that their wishes come true. Other shines include lakshmi, Ganesha, Shiva, Krishna and Hanuman, sita and rama.
On special Hindu Puja like Dussehra, Navratri, Mahashivratri and janmashtami , there is a grand celebration and devotees take part with full belief and dedication for maa durga. Babaji’s Birthday and Nirvana Divas are also considered auspicious and special cultural and religious programmes including Langar are also served.
Best time to visit the temple is during various hindu festivals and during the aarti timings when you can feel the most spiritual and most connected to Maa Durga.
Temple also has a premise where is the statue of Baba Nagpal and his place ( shayan kaksh) which is also worshipped by the devotees. The disciples believe that the goddess communicates with Baba Nangal and gives him her blessings. The temple is a remarkable epitome of South and North Indian styles fusion architecture which is widespread over 60 acres having over other 20 temples.
How to Reach Chattarpur Temple Delhi, The Capital of India
Delhi being the capital of India and largest metropolitan area of India, and major tourist destination, of Indiawhere people across the world visits around the year. It is very well connected with all major cities of India via road, rail and air network. Delhi has multiple major railway junction from where you can get train to all region of India. Delhi has domestic and international Airport from where you can get flight to all major cities of India and across the globe. You can find private taxi and public transport as well from both airport to reach to city center. Delhi is located at 46 km from Noida, 40 km from Gurugram, 242 km from Agra, 41 km from Gaziabad, 243 km from Chandigarh. You can get direct buses and train from almost all cities to reach Delhi.