The Tale of the Vaishno Devi

Vaishno Devi Temple

Overview

The Vaishno Devi temple is considered the holiest pilgrimage for Hindus, nestled in the Trikuta mountains. The temple is one of the 108 pithas of Goddess Gurga. Annually, the temple receives thousands of devotees who come to seek blessings from Goddess Durga. In essence, devotees behold three sacred ‘pindis’ representing Maha Kali on the extreme right, Lakshmi in the middle, and Saraswati on the extreme left. 

The Tale

Multiple stories are associated with the Vaishno Devi temple. One, steeped in mythology and entwined with the epic Ramayana, is quite popular among the devotees. 

According to legend, Lady Vaishnavi was born in Ratnakar Sagar in the southern realms of India. She devoted her life to celibacy. But it was a fateful encounter that would set her on a remarkable journey. One day her fate led her to cross paths with Rama who was in search of his beloved Sita. Vaishnavi pleased Rama to marry her but he refused to do so and promised her that she would marry her in the Kalayuga when he would come as Kalki, the last incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

Later, Mahayogi Guru Goraksh Nath, aware of Rama and Vaishnavi’s conversation, sent his disciple Bhairav Nath to check on Vaishnavi’s level of spiritual advancement. There, Bhairav Nath, seeing Vaishnavi entangled with her beauty, pestered her to marry him. 

At the same time, Pandit Sridhar, a devotee of Shakti, organized a Bhandara where he invited Bhairav Nath along with Devi Vaishnavi and other village members. During the Bhandara, Bhairav Nath sought to claim Devi Vaishnavi, but she fled into the mountains where she stayed for nine months, assuming a state of profound meditation. Therefore the cave is also known as Garbjan Gufa. Emerging after nine months, she transformed into the divine form to fight against the malevolent asura. She beheaded Bhairon who fell on a hilltop at a distance. After which he realised his mistake and prayed for forgiveness. The benevolent Goddess granted him mercy by blessing him with a boon that her devotees must first visit Bhairav Nath's shrine after paying homage to her cave, only then their darshan will be deemed complete. 

In her quest for inner peace, Vaishno Devi transformed herself into a five-and-a-half-foot-tall rock that stands today as ‘pindis’. The three-headed rocks bear different colours, each representing the divine essence I have already talked about.

Interesting facts

• The Divine Dream: The legend says that after Pandit Shridhar completed the Bhandara, he had a dream in which Vaishno Devi unveiled a path leading to her cave. After that, he decided to spend his life worshipping her. 

• Lord Krishna’s Advice: It is also said that before the Mahabharat war, Lord Krishna advised Arjuna to worship Devi Vaishno and seek blessings from her to win the war. I found it interesting that Lord Vishnu himself was present during the war to safeguard the Pandavas, still, he advised to seek Shakti’s blessing before the war commenced. This highlights the extraordinary power of the goddess. 

• Different names of Devi: We know that Vaishno Devi is also known as Trikuta, Vaishnavi, Ambe, Mata Rani or Brahmacharini. ‘Brahma’ means ‘Tapa’ and ‘Charini’ means ‘Performer’. She is one of the nine forms of Goddess Durga. She performed penance (Tapa) for months. Vaishno devi is said to be the combined Shakti of Goddess Parvati, Saraswati and Lakshmi. 

• Rama’s Enigmatic Promise: An exciting story unfolds when Vaishnavi first meets Lord Rama. She requested his hands in marriage, and response, Lord Rama made a promise, saying that he would return, and only if she recognised him, would he marry her. True to his word, Rama reappeared as a sage. Unfortunately, lady Vaishnavi could not recognize his divine form, so he refused the marriage proposal. He further asked her to move to the Trikuta mountains in the northern region of India. Vaishnavi followed his instructions and performed penance in the cave of Trikuta mountain. 

• Divine meditation: Devi Vaishnavi used to keep a bow and arrow and remained surrounded by apes and a ferocious lion while meditating.  

• Navaratri, A Celebration of Victory: When Devi Vaishno came to know that Lord Rama had defeated the demon Ravana, she celebrated the victory for nine days. Consequently, we celebrate ‘Navaratri.'

• The Enigmatic Colours of the Three Rocks: Despite the shared origin of these rocks through natural processes, their colours differ. The pindi denoting Maha Kali is black, the second Pindi representing Maha Lakshmi has a pitamber or golden yellowish colour, and lastly, the third Pindi symbolises Maha Saraswati and is white.