Jwala Devi Temple

Recognized as one of the 51 Shaktipeeths of India, the Jwalamukhi Devi Temple, tended by the followers of Goraknath, is set against a cliff. The picturesque temple, built in the Indo-Sikh style, is a modern building whose dome is of gilt, gold and pinnacles and possesses a beautiful folding door of silver plates, presented by the Sikh Raja Kharak Singh.
Dedicated to the “Goddess of Light”, the Jwalamukhi temple is one of the most popular Hindu temples in Northern India. The temple located on a small spur on the Dharamshala-Shimla road at a distance of about 20-kms from the Jwalamukhi Road Railway Station attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year. In this temple there is a copper pipe through which natural gas comes out.
After Daksha Yoga Bhagna, Lord Shiva placed the burnt dead body of Sati on his shoulders and started wandering about in a state of madness. To save the world from the destructive wrath of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu started cutting the limbs of the dead Goddess Parvati one by one. The places where they fell became sacred centers for the worship of Shakti. The tongue of Sati fell at the place where the temple of Jwalamukhi is situated. The flames that come out of the openings in the earth?s surface are regarded as the manifestations of the fallen tongue of Sati and are worshipped as “Jwalamukhi Devi” (Goddess, who emits flames from her mouth).

The Legend Associated
Raja Bhumi Chand – an originator of Katoch family of Kangra, begins the construction of the Jwalaji temple in Kangra valley and later-on the structure was completed by the Maharaja Ranjit Singh in collaboration with Raja Sansar Chand in the year 1835.

The legend says that a Yajna was performed by the Prajapati Daksha (father of sati), who had invited all the gods to attain the ‘Yajna except Lord Shiva. Parvati the associate of Lord Shiva travelled to ‘Yajna’ location and found that there were no defined place for Lord Shiva. She felt so humiliated that she plunged into the Havankund of Yajna. On hearing the incident, Lord Shiva ran to the spot and found the body half burnt. The God ran to Lord Vishnu (the preserver of the universe) for help who then accumulated Sati’s body into pieces. It is believed that in the process of accumulating the pieces of body some of the body parts got scattered at different locations. These places later-on came to be known as Shaktipeeths, as the power of goddess. From then, the place is regarded as one of the auspicious pilgrimage centers in Himachal Pradesh. The temple is now converted into a national heritage by the state government and in the present scenario, the temple is looked after by the 102 ‘Pojaris’ (priests), who perform rituals on a daily rotation basis.

The flame has been glowing ever since Sati Devi's (from Nataraja Dance time - Daksha Yajna) tongue fell in this place and it became the famous JWALA DEVI TEMPLe, part of the Ashta Dasha Shakti Peethas

Jwala devi temple

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