For each pilgrim, the temple city of Vrindavan is suffused with the devotional vitality of Radha and Krishna. Folks come right here to be swept away by this nice spirit of affection and really feel part of the divine play that this land has represented for 1000’s of years. Nonetheless, not many individuals know that the place the place Radha and Krishna’s divine play takes place can be an necessary abode of Shakti – one of many 51 necessary Shaktipeeths is situated among the many many bylanes of Vrindavan, attracting seekers from throughout the nation.
Katyayani Devi Shaktipeeth, also called Uma Devi Shaktipeeth, is the situation the place the hair of Goddess Sati is alleged to have fallen. The goddess right here is specifically worshipped by younger women who pray to her to bless them with an excellent groom. It’s believed that the maidens of Braj who needed Krishna as their husband sought the blessings of Katyayani Devi. The custom of worship continues.
The temple right here was constructed greater than a century in the past by Kesavanand Maharaj, an ardent devotee of the goddess, who was instructed by her in a dream to assemble a temple in Vrindavan, on the website the place her hair had fallen.
After a precarious auto journey via the bylanes of Vrindavan, we have been dropped off on the entrance to the temple. Why precarious? We have been warned by our information that the various monkeys that abound on this temple city have a penchant for snatching spectacles, mobiles, and luggage. So in every single place we needed to maintain the specs and cell contained in the purse and sling it throughout in order that it couldn’t be snatched simply. There have been so many monkeys outdoors the temple that the auto driver stored guard, in order that our footwear was not taken away.
On reaching right here, I discovered that the Shaktipeeth was a lot much less crowded than many different temples in Vrindavan that draw enormous crowds day-after-day. It was night time and we needed to wait some time for the principle entrance to open. The timings are 7 am to 11 am (morning) and 5.30 pm to eight pm (night).
As quickly as the massive entrance door opened, we walked into the interior courtyard that opened to the attractive marble temple of Katyayani Devi, and the Shiva temple. The serene surroundings crammed me with peace. Once I stepped contained in the temple to have darshan of the goddess, I used to be shocked by the resplendent fantastic thing about her kind. I may really feel that nice magnificence reflecting in my coronary heart as my head bowed down in reverence.
After doing parikrama of Maa Katyayani’s idol, I went to the Bhairav temple, and although it was closed, I may have darshan of the Shivlinga from outdoors. Bhuteshwar Mahadev is the Bhairav of Katyayani Devi, and is understood to guard the town from destructive entities.
Exterior, we discovered that our auto driver had efficiently managed to guard our slippers from the band of monkeys. This was adopted by one other cautious auto journey, clutching our possessions, as we headed to the following temple.
(Sudipta is an vitality healer and mystical storyteller. Her assortment of quick tales ‘Invoking Our Inside Goddess’,’ Mystical Tales Of Sacred Earth’, ‘The Blue God’s Love’ and ‘Enchanted Waters: The Magical Circulation Of Life’ can be found worldwide on Amazon Kindle.)
