History
Shri Naina Devi Temple is located on an altitude of 1177 meters in Distt. Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. Several mythological stories are associated with the establishment of the temple.
According to a legend, Goddess Sati burnt herself alive in Yagna, which distressed Lord Shiva. He picked the corpse of Sati on her shoulder and started his Taandav dance. This horrified all deities in the heaven as this could lead to holocaust. This urged Lord Vishnu to unleash his Chakra that cut the Sati’s body into 51 pieces. Shri Naina Devi Temple is the place where eyes of Sati fell down.
Another story related to the temple is of a Gujjar Boy named Naina. Once he was grazing his cattle and observed that a white cow is showering milk from her udders on a stone. He saw the same thing for next several days. One night while sleeping, he saw Goddess in her dreams who told him that the stone is her Pindi. Naina told about the entire situation and his dream to Raja Bir Chand. When Raja saw it happening in reality, he built a temple on that spot and named the temple after Naina’s name.
Shri Naina Devi Temple is also known as Mahishapeeth because of defeat of demon Mahishasur by the Goddess. According to the legends, Mahishasur was a powerful demon who was blessed by the boon of immortality by Lord Brahma, but the condition was that he could be defeated only by an unmarried woman. Due to this boon, Mahishasur started spreading terror on Earth and Gods. To cope with the demon, all Gods combined their powers and created a Devi to defeat him. The Devi was gifted different types of weapons by all Gods. When Mahishasur got mesmerized by the immense beauty of Devi and proposed her to marry him. Devi told him that she will marry him if he would overpower her. During the battle, Devi defeated the demon and took out both his eyes. This urged Gods to happily applaud “Jai Naina” and hence the name.
The ringing of bell produces the auspicious sound of “OM” that corresponds with the universal sound of God. The benefit of ringing bell is that it keeps away all inauspicious and distracting sounds so that worshipers can concentrate during the Aarti.
Puja Archana
Puja archana of Shri Naina Devi Ji is done 5-times a day. Different type of “Bhog” is offered to Shri Mata Ji in each puja accompanied by 5 different aarties. These include Mangal Aarti.
How To Reach
By Air
The nearest airport is in Chandigarh and the distance from there is near about 100 km.
By Rail
The nearest railway station is in Anandpur Sahib and the distance from there is near about 30 km.
By Road
Temple is about 350 km from Delhi and 100 km from Chandigarh. Frequent State Transport bus services are available from all important cities of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
