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Naina Devi Temple In Himachal Pradesh – History

Naina Devi temple is located around 65 kms from Bilaspur town in Himachal Pradesh. Here is a look at the history of Naina Devi temple. The popular Shakti temple in India sits atop a hill, overlooking the sacred Sikh pilgrimage of Anandpur Sahib on one side and the Gobind Sagar Lake on the other.

Naina Devi Temple History

The Shaktipeeth is where the eyes of Goddess Sati allegedly fell.

The original temple was built in the 8th century CE.

The present temple is relatively new and replaced the earlier one which was buried in a landslide in 1880 CE.

The temple is considered sacred by Sikhs as well since Guru Gobind Singh visited it before embarking on one of his military campaigns against the Mughals.

Legend has it that while grazing his cattle a Gujjar boy called Naina observed milk from the udders of cow flowing on a particular stone beneath a banyan tree. Subsequently the Goddess appeared in his dreams and told him that the stone was her pindi.

Naina revealed his dream to Raja Bir Chand who built a temple on the spot and enshrined the pindi in it.

According to a legend, Goddess Sati burnt herself alive in Daksha Yagna, which invoked the unimaginable fury of Lord Shiva. He picked the corpse of Sati on his shoulder and started his Tandav dance. This horrified all deities and saints as this could lead to the end of the universe. They prayed to Vishnu whose role to sustain and maintain the universe. Vishnu unleashed his Chakra and cut the body of Sati into 51 pieces. Shri Naina Devi Temple is the place where eyes of Sati fell.

The sanctum sanctorum of Naina Devi temple has three murtis – one dedicated to Naina Devi, another to Goddess Kali and another to Bhagavan Ganesha. The door of the temple is guarded by Ganesha and Hanuman.

There is a fresh water source near the temple. There is a cave near the shrine known as Naina Gufa.