Location: Jammu and
Kashmir in North India.
Altitude: 5200 feet.
Best time to Visit: Throughout the Year.
Famous as: Pilgrimage center of Hindus.
Languages : Hindi, English
Mata Vaishno Devi Temple Information
Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers in
India. It perched on the Trikuta Mountain at a height of 5, 300 ft. The
shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi nestles in a cave of Himalayan Mountains in the
state of Jammu and Kashmir. This cave temple is at a distance of 61 kms from
Jammu. The gateway to temple has a stretch of 13 kms that has to be covered
on foot by the devotees. The trail turn into a cramped tunnel with a running
stream called as ‘Char an Ganga.’ The pilgrim has to pass through
the cave to reach the holy sanatorium.
Thousand of devotees pay their devotions throughout the year irrespective
of the difficulties un taken by them especially during the winter’s
seasons when the detour is generally obstructed by snowfall.
Diet the Godess Vaishno
The house of worship of Vaishno Devi is dedicated to Vaishno, the
manifestation of Goddess Sati. The shrine is the abode to deity Vaishno
representing in the configuration of a five and half feet tall rock
structure and three Pin dies or heads. Legend has it that goddess in order
to coalesce with Lord Vishnu to accomplish her destiny was born as Vaishno
in the house of Ranker.
The Significance of the Temple
The holy Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi Jim is most sacred and divine as it
embody the holy Indies depicting Mata in her three forms:
- Mahal Kali represents Tam Gun : Tam stands for
gloominess and unhappiness.
- Mahal Lakshmi represents Raj Gun : Raj stands for
livelihood, prosperousness and happiness.
- Mahal Saraswati represents Sat va Gun : Sat va
stands for pureness, righteousness and honesty.
A unification of these three temperament form a distinct Sati known as Mata
Vaishno Devi Jim that makes her worshiped through out the world.
The Pad Yatra/ Divine Journey
The Pad Yatra commence at Kara is a 13km stretch of hard and rough terrain.
The pilgrims generally cover the journey by foot or can go for a pony or a
horse ride. Ban ganga is a place where Mata quenched her thirst 1km from
Katra and at the distance of 6km lies the holy cave at Adhkawari.Throughout
the journey devotees are fed with shelters and bhandaras (eating joints)
with pure vegetarian food. A facility of coolers for drinking water is
available all over the route.
Blankets can also be obtained on refundable deposit for Rs.100.
The Darshan Prasad, Chunri and Coconuts from the shops located at the
entrance of the Bhawan.
The Yatris are issued a token number mentioning the group number and the
time for Darshen.
The Aartis
The Aarti ritual of the Goddess Vashnavi is performed twice a day, early
morning at sun rise and during evenings at sun set. It usually takes two
hours for the Aarti to be completed, during this period the premises are
closed for the pilgrims. Only the Pujaris, Sahayaks are permitted in the
cave when the Aarti is being performed. Whole shrine echoes with the holy
sound of chanting Mantras by the Punaris accompanied by uttering 108 names
of Durga-Ma. Pujaris chant the Pratigyaa Sankalp and they pledge to worship
Maha Saraswati, Mata Maha Kali and Maha Lakshmi Vaishno Mata .
Accomodation
At Katra, Yatri Niwas managed by the Shrine Board, Rest Houses maintained
by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department are available Adhkawari,
Sanjichhat and Darbar. Dharamshala, run by various organisations offer
reasonable accommodation to the pilgrims. Free accommodation (sarais) are
also available
Mode of Transport
Air: The nearest airport 48km from Katra is in Jammu.
Helicopter service can also be obtained from the airport at Sanjhi Chat in
Jammu in the morning. The ride costs about Rs. 2,000 one way.
Train: The nearest train station is in Jammu.
Road: There are regular buses leaving for the 52 km trip
from the central bus stand in Jammu to where the road ends at Katra (2 hr).
Katra
The gateway to the shrine is situated at 2,800 feet and takes about 2 hours
to reach from Jammu by bus. It is 48 km from Jammu, 650 km from Delhi 520 km
from Udhampur, 410 km from Chandigarh and 80 km from Patnitop
