Vrudra-pranahare Cahintri Vajreswari Namosthude||
Vajreswari Devi temple, located in the old Kangra township,
is said to have been built at the spot where one of the charred
breasts from the burnt body of Devi dakshayani fell.
(refer to 'Yoga-agni' in 'Abodes of devi' for background story)
Kangra in ancient texts is also known as 'Susarmapur".
This area is also known as 'thrikot' as the three rivers 'Ravi, beas and
Sutlaj' originate here.
'Kangra' means 'a fort built on the ear'. The demon "jullandan" who was troubling the 'devas' and humans' was killed by Vishnu and Siva at this place and hence the name.
The Devi here is said to be self-incarnated and hence there is no proper idol. Vajreswari is strong like 'vajram' (diamond). Lord Indira who weilds 'vajrayuda' worships Vajreswari. So she controls the rain, thunder and the sky. She is the 'sarva-vyapi' (omni-present) controlling all natural phenomena. Vajreswari in the 'maha-kundalini' force raises up through the spinal chord upto the crown of the head and becomes 'Siva-sakthi aykya rupini'. With this rising up of the Kundalini force the devi shows the path to bliss. Any one worshipping Devi Vajreswari will surely attain strength of body and will. They will get all the bliss in this world and the next.
There is an idol of 'Bhairava' which is over 5000 years old. This idol is said to fore-tell any impending calamity by letting out tears from the eyes.
There is also a shrine for a devotee who cut off his own head as an offering to the Devi.
Devi Vajreswai is also known as "Tara" - the deity behind the 'Reikhi' force. Some texts say that Tara incarnated as Sri Rama. in a subsequent birth.
It is noteworthy that Huine Tsang the Chinese traveller has mentioned about this temple in his travelogue. This testifies to the antiquity of this place of worship
Legend has it that the Pandava brothers lived here for some time. To quench the thirst of the people around Arjun shot an arrow into a huge boulder and water came gushing out. This is called 'Gupt-Ganga'. The area is an arid one and where the water under the boulder comes from is still a mystery.
The temple was once very rich, endowed with diamonds, pearls etc. Mahmood Ghazni raided this place in the year 1009 and took away all the wealth with him. A mosque was built in its ruins. The temple was rebuilt and an idol installed by the local King in 1043. It was ransacked again by Feroz Shah Tuglaq in 1360. It was left to the benevolant Akbar to restore this temple to its former glory. Unfortunately an earthquake destroyed the complex in 1905. The Kangra restoration committee rebuilt it in its present form in 1920.
It is a treasure house for art lovers- a monolithic temple complex of large proportions. The shrines are chiseled with figurine sculptures and decorative embellishments.Devotees flock to the beautiful Kangra valley during the Vasantha Navaratri celebrations in the month of April/May and then again in September/October shortly before Dassehra and worship Goddess Durga at the Vajreshwari (Kangra Devi) temple.
'Kangra' means 'a fort built on the ear'. The demon "jullandan" who was troubling the 'devas' and humans' was killed by Vishnu and Siva at this place and hence the name.
The Devi here is said to be self-incarnated and hence there is no proper idol. Vajreswari is strong like 'vajram' (diamond). Lord Indira who weilds 'vajrayuda' worships Vajreswari. So she controls the rain, thunder and the sky. She is the 'sarva-vyapi' (omni-present) controlling all natural phenomena. Vajreswari in the 'maha-kundalini' force raises up through the spinal chord upto the crown of the head and becomes 'Siva-sakthi aykya rupini'. With this rising up of the Kundalini force the devi shows the path to bliss. Any one worshipping Devi Vajreswari will surely attain strength of body and will. They will get all the bliss in this world and the next.
There is an idol of 'Bhairava' which is over 5000 years old. This idol is said to fore-tell any impending calamity by letting out tears from the eyes.
There is also a shrine for a devotee who cut off his own head as an offering to the Devi.
Devi Vajreswai is also known as "Tara" - the deity behind the 'Reikhi' force. Some texts say that Tara incarnated as Sri Rama. in a subsequent birth.
It is noteworthy that Huine Tsang the Chinese traveller has mentioned about this temple in his travelogue. This testifies to the antiquity of this place of worship
Legend has it that the Pandava brothers lived here for some time. To quench the thirst of the people around Arjun shot an arrow into a huge boulder and water came gushing out. This is called 'Gupt-Ganga'. The area is an arid one and where the water under the boulder comes from is still a mystery.
The temple was once very rich, endowed with diamonds, pearls etc. Mahmood Ghazni raided this place in the year 1009 and took away all the wealth with him. A mosque was built in its ruins. The temple was rebuilt and an idol installed by the local King in 1043. It was ransacked again by Feroz Shah Tuglaq in 1360. It was left to the benevolant Akbar to restore this temple to its former glory. Unfortunately an earthquake destroyed the complex in 1905. The Kangra restoration committee rebuilt it in its present form in 1920.
It is a treasure house for art lovers- a monolithic temple complex of large proportions. The shrines are chiseled with figurine sculptures and decorative embellishments.Devotees flock to the beautiful Kangra valley during the Vasantha Navaratri celebrations in the month of April/May and then again in September/October shortly before Dassehra and worship Goddess Durga at the Vajreshwari (Kangra Devi) temple.
Om Sakthi
Location:
Kangra is in Nagarghot
Kangra is in Nagarghot
Himachal-pradesh
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