Vaishno Devi is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in North India and is famous for its shrine located in a cave in the Trikuta Mountains. This cave shrine has been the source of faith and strength for million of devotees for hundreds of years.
Vaishno Devi Mandir is a holy pilgrimage destination for the Hindus, located in the folds of three-peaked mountain Trikuta, 12 km away from Katra in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It's the temple dedicated to Shakti, which attract thousands of tourists, especially but not limited to the Hindu pilgrims from every corner of the country. Mata Vaishno Devi, also popularly known as Mata Vaishnavi and Mata Rani in Hinduism, is believed to have spent some time in this cave at an altitude of 5,200 ft while observing various spiritual disciplines. Currently Vaishno Devi temple is India’s second most visited religious site with yearly visitors of around 60,000. The shrine of Vaishno Devi is maintained by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.
One of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in the country and a revered site for Hindus, Vaishno Devi is located in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. The hills of Vaishno Devi are home to the famous Mata Vaishno Devi Temple, and the nearest town is Katra.
Located at an altitude of 5200 feet above sea level and at a distance of approximately 14 kilometres from Katra, this is the second most visited religious site in the country. More than eight million devotees visit the temple every year.
The Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi which is a narrow hilly cave is in a part of the lower Himalayas called Tirkuta Hills. The shrine contains images of three deities – Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati who are all reincarnations of Goddess Durga. The Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is acknowledged as one of the Shakti Peeths of Goddess Durga.
To visit the shrine one has to trek up the mountains. The original cave is quite narrow and takes time to reach the Sanctum Sanctorum. A new tunnel has been constructed, which is 200 metres long to facilitate the large influx of pilgrims visiting the destination for Darshan. However, the original cave is open for devotees during the lean season, traditional festivals or ritualistic occasions.
With so many visitors all round the year; Vaishno Devi is very well connected. The nearest airport is the Jammu Airport which has regular and frequent flights from all major domestic airlines.
Earlier, a visit to Vaishno Devi was done on foot and devotees walked to the caves of Mata Vaishno Devi at a distance of 61 km from Jammu which was quite strenuous. Even now, many devotees prefer to walk, although carts and horses are also available to carry visitors to the mountains. Helicopter services are available which shuttle devotees to the shrine on a daily basis.
Due to its high altitude, the weather in Vaishno Devi is quite cold and during winter the temperature goes down below 0° Celsius. It is best to avoid travelling to Vaishno Devi during the winter and rainy seasons. The best time to visit the site is during the summer season and when there is no rainfall.
Apart from the shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, there are also quite a few other pilgrimage sites on the way, like the Bhumika Temple, Kalika Temple, Shiva Goompha, and Ban Ganga Temple with the spring of the holy river Ban Ganga.
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It is very hard, like any other old shrines, to trace back the history of Vaishno Devi; however geological studies indicate that the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi is almost a million years old. Though the Vedic literature doesn’t refer to any goddess, however one can find the mention of Trikuta hills in Rigveda - the oldest of the four Vedas. There are different versions of the origin of Vaishno Devi available, but according to the most popular version, the shrine of Vaishno Devi was discovered about 700 years back by Pandit Shridhar. According to the popular belief, Mata once helped in organizing a Bhandaara at Shridhar’s place. But, she had to leave the place to escape Bhairon Nath. As Mata left the place, Shridhar started giving up food in grief and started praying for Mata Vaishno Devi.
Mata came in his dreams and asked him to search for her at the cave in the Trikuta Mountain. This led to the discovery of the holy cave. Shridhar found three head atop a rock, which are currently known as the Holy Pindies.