Kol Kandoli Temple is located at Nagarkot in Jammu and
Kashmir and it is associated with Goddess Vaishno Devi. Legend has it that
Goddess Vaishno Devi appeared here when she was playing her divine leela with
an evil tantric named Bhairavnath.
When she reached Nagarkot she saw some girls playing with
ball. Assuming the form of a small girl she too joined them. After playing with
them for some time Vaishno Devi fed them with a delicious meal. She then asked
a girl to bring water for them to drink.
The girl replied that she did not have Kaul (pot) to fetch
the water and there is no water around for her to bring. On hearing this
goddess gave the girl a gold pot and asked her to bring water from the nearby
pit. When Vaishno Devi glanced at the dry pit it became full with water.
The little girl moved (kandholna) in local dialect) the pot
in the pit as directed by Goddess. Hence the spot came to be known as Kol
Kandoli.
Vaishno Devi started living at Kol Kandoli. Soon her fame
spread far and wide and people started flocking the place to see her. Goddess
too started fulfilling their wishes by her divine powers. However Goddess
continued to play with her little friends while obliging her devotees.
In Kol Kandoli region there lived an old woman named
Maideva. She was a great devotee of Goddess and used to be perpetually busy
reciting her name and worshipping her despite her old age. Pleased by her
devotion Vaishno Devi appeared before her in person and told her that she too
would be worshipped along with her. The devotees would first pay respect to her
and then approach goddess for darshan.
When, after some time, Maideva died of old age people built
a temple in her honor. This temple is known as Devamai Dhak.