Legend Of The Vaishno Devi Temple
The Vaishno Devi temple is one of the most popular sites in India. It has millions of devotees walking up the mountain to pay gratitude and seek the blessings of the goddess. Moreover, the Vaishno Devi temple cave holds idols of over 33 Hindu gods. Vaishno Devi Temple is said to be very powerful and mystical. Hence, there are followers who make it a point to visit the goddess regularly despite the harsh journey to the temple. Different modes of transportation aid the devotees in reaching the Vaishno Devi temple. Electric vehicles, ropeway, palki, and even ponies help ease the journey. Also, there are helicopter services up to Sanjichhat, a town located 9.5 km from the Vaishno Devi temple Jammu.
History of Vaishno Devi Temple
The date of establishment of the temple is unknown. On the other hand, geological studies suggest that the temple is almost a million years old. However, the origin of Vaishno Devi is present in several stories in Hindu Mythology. Vaishno Devi temple history is an extensive one with an instance in almost every story in mythology.
Birth and Creation of Vaishno Devi
The story of the creation of Vaishno Devi goes back to a time where the virtuous struggled under the tyranny of Asuras like Ravana, Kumbhkaran, Tadka, Khar Dushan, and others. As a result, the Gods decided to intervene by creating a divine personality in the form of a girl to protect the people. Finally, the gods created Vaishno Devi to reaffirm the spirit of religion and protect the virtuous.
She was born in the home of Ratnakar Sagar in South India and was named Trikuta. Ratnakar and his wife remained childless for several years and yearned to have a child. Finally, one day, he prayed and promised that he would never interfere with what his child wanted to do in the latter part of this life. As a result, the very next day, the divine girl was born. Since she was born in Lord Vishnu’s lineage, her name is Vaishno. Eventually, the religion propagated by this divine girl is Vaishno-Dharm.
The story of Vaishno Devi is present throughout history.
Ramayana
Trikuta’s divine power and miracles performed by her spread far and wide across the country and attracted numerous devotees. For instance, the story suggests that after seeking permission from her father, she prayed to Lord Vishnu’s form Rama on the seashore.
Meanwhile, Rama reached the same shore in search of Sita. He was in admiration of the girl who was deep in penance. When asked the reason for the penance, she replied saying she believed Rama to be her husband by heart and mind.
Ram, however, told her that he vowed to be faithful to his wife. But to prevent her penance from becoming unfruitful, he promised to accept her if she recognizes him when he meets her under disguise. There is a belief that he did visit her while returning from Lanka. However, Trikuta failed to recognize him. Firstly, he revealed his identity and assured her that he would marry her in Kaliyug where he would appear in the form of Kalki.
Later, he asked her to meditate in the Trikuta Range of the Manik Mountains in North India. Finally, he gave her a bow and arrow, a lion, and a small army of monkeys for protection. There is a belief that he was the one to say that Trikuta would become immortal and be called Vaishno Devi.
The divine mother proceeded to perform Navratra for the victory of Rama in the battle against Ravana. Even today, the story of Ramayana is read by devotees during the Navratri festival.
Story of Bhairon Nath
A few years later, a Mahayogi called Gorakh Nath had a vision of the dialogue between Vaishno Devi and Lord Ram. Subsequently, to find out more about her spiritual powers, he sent his best disciple Bhairon Nath to find out the truth.
Bhairon Nath secretly followed her and observed that despite being a sadhvi, Vaishno Devi carried a bow and arrow and was followed by a herd of monkeys and a lion. Eventually falling in love with her, he started forcing her to marry him. When he incessantly followed her and disturbed her penance, she fled to the mountains.
Finally, she reached a cave where she wanted to continue her penance. When he followed her there as well, she lost her patience and beheaded him. Realizing his mistakes, the soul of Bhairon Nath approached the Goddess and prayed for forgiveness.
As a result, the Goddess decided to shed her human form and took the form of rock to continue her meditation uninterrupted. The Goddess thus appears in the form of a five and a half feet tall rock with three heads on the top. In conclusion, the cave where she is believed to have transformed herself is now the holy Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi. This Vaishno Devi temple story is one of the most popular stories about the Goddess.
