History, Importance, Timings, Festivals, Architecture, Activities, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Mahadevi Tirth Temple, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India
From the antiquity, the township of Kullu, has always been a hub of numerous spectacular shrines and Shri Mahadevi Teerth also known as Vaishno Mata Mandir, situated on the serene bank of River Beas, stands as an epitome of idyllic sacred place in Himachal Pradesh. The landscapes of Kullu and the serenity that fills the ambience created by enchanting Himalayas, Pine and Oak forests, and the hot spring makes a peaceful gateway in the abode of Maha Devi. Mahadevi Tirth Mata Temple’s main deity is Goddess Adi Shakti. She is also the principal deity in goddess focussed tradition of Shaktism, and is regarded as the source of creation of the universe and the cosmos. Kullu Valley houses many significant religious shrines. Since, being a place that used to exist during the time of Puranas and had association of era of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, it is quite natural that this valley is considered as the valley of Gods. Kullu has temples dedicated to different Hindu Gods and Goddesses and Mahadevi Tirth Mata Temple is one of the most magnificent temples of the district.
History of Mahadevi Tirth Temple, Kullu
Built in the year 1966 on the donations and funding of a pious man named Swami Sewak Das Ji, who visited the beautiful Kullu Valley to spend some time in peace and was deeply mesmerised by the place and its association with the Goddess, who was believed to have an abode in its mountains. Swami Sewak ji followed his intuition and started locating the shrine of the Goddess in the mountains, but was disappointed a hundred times. After repeated attempts, he was able to found the cave hidden by huge stones and course of water. It was attempted to make this place accessible to the devotees, and so he started its construction. Natives of the valley regard this temple as Mata Vaishno Devi Mandir.
Starting with nothing but divine stimulus, the exquisitely beautiful place of pilgrimage came into existence and remains open for the devotees so that they can visit the shrine (‘darshan’) and seek blessings from the divine personification of the source of all creation.
Due to magnificent geographical bliss and a blanket of spirituality covered over the place, this place is majority of the tourists visit this temple complex in Kullu. Devotees and tourists across the country flock the temple complex for sightseeing as well as religious reverence. The temple authority provides vegetarian meals to all devotees throughout the year in order to help the people who cannot afford basic meals. Goddess Mahadevi is the mother of all cosmos, and the temple authority manages to depict her motherhood to the people who come here to ask for an end to all suffering, attain infinite peace and spirit.
Other major attractions around the temple - Mahadevi Tirth Temple, Kullu
Bijli Mahadev is one of the most popular temples around the Kullu Valley, which finely depicts the Indian art of sculpture making and prowess. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and lies in close proximity to the Goddess’ temple. Since it is the highest point in the Valley, an eye-catchy panoramic view of Kullu could be observed from here.
The Raghunath Temple also is in the vicinity of Mata Vaishno Devi Temple and is considered the most sacred Lord Rama’s temple in Himachal Pradesh since the seventeenth century.
Facilities provided to the pilgrims by Mahadevi Tirth Temple, Kullu
Over a short span of 50 years, the temple has grown into a huge network of guest houses (Dharamshala), meeting halls, and daily bhandara arrangements in the community Kitchen where thousands of pilgrims volunteer for preparing meals daily. The organisation called “Sharada Maa Sewa Sangh”, manages all the social service involvements of the temple from cloth donation drives to donating for the education sector, free dispensary, the trust is responsible for all philanthropic activities. Named after Mother Sharada, who was the chief consort of Shri Ramakrishna, it is headed by Geeta Maa, a saint from the same region, who stays and serves in the ideals of Shri Sewak Das, the founder of the temple.
How to Reach Mahadevi Tirth Temple, Kullu, Major Tourist Center of Himachal Pradesh, India
Kullu being one of the major tourist center along with important district and city of Himachal Pradesh, it is very well connected with all major cities of India via road, rail and air network. Millions of tourist across the world visits here throughout the year which makes Kullu more convenient in terms of travel, accommodation and other services. The nearest airport to Kullu is Bhuntar airport which is located just at a distance of around 10 km from the city. Jogindernagar railway station is the nearest major rail junction which is at around 110 km from city. Kullu is located at 40 km from Manali, 252 km from Chandigarh, 200 km from Shimla, 510 km from Delhi, 415 km from Vaishnodevi, 145 km from Palampur, 86 km from Mandi and 108 km from Joginder nagar.
