Shri Naina Devi Ji, Bilaspur
What it is
Shri Naina Devi Ji stands on a hilltop in Bilaspur district, above the town that takes its name and looking down on Gobind Sagar. It is one of the five Shakti Peeths of Himachal. When Shiva carried the body of Mata Sati through the worlds in his grief, and Vishnu's weapons parted it, her right eye fell on this hill.
Photos: Devyansh.sharma09 (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
The temple has a second name, Mahishapeeth. Mahishasur could be beaten only by an unmarried woman, so the gods joined their powers into the Devi and armed her. She fought him here, defeated him and took out both his eyes, and the gods cried «Jai Naina». The name of the goddess is that cry.
How the temple was found again
After the old shrine was lost, a Gurjar boy grazing his cattle saw a white cow pour her milk on a stone, day after day. The goddess came to him in a dream and told him the stone was her pindi. He told Raja Bir Chand, who saw it with his own eyes and built the temple on that spot.
Getting there
From Bilaspur it is about 48 km and 81 min by road; from Chandigarh about 104 km and 107 min, which is why many pilgrims come straight up from the plains. The road curves round the hill to a point below the top. From there concrete steps climb the rest of the way, and a cable car carries pilgrims from the base of the hill to the top.
The visit
Leave shoes where the steps begin and cover your head. The queue moves through the main shrine for darshan of the Mother. From the top you can see across the hills to the water of Gobind Sagar. Prasad stalls line the steps.
Around it
Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of the Khalsa, is about 40 min below the hill in Punjab. Back in Bilaspur, the drowned temples of the old town show in the lake when the water is low. For all five Shakti Peeths of Himachal, see the three-day yatra and the Shakti Peeth circuit.
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Questions people ask
Why is Naina Devi a Shakti Peeth?
Because the right eye of Mata Sati fell here, when Shiva carried her body through the worlds and Vishnu's weapons parted it. The temple is also Mahishapeeth: here the Mother defeated Mahishasur and took out both his eyes, and the gods cried «Jai Naina», which gave the goddess her name.
How do you get up to the Naina Devi temple?
The road curves up round the hill to a point below the top, and from there concrete steps climb the rest of the way. A cable car also carries pilgrims from the base of the hill to the top. By road it is about 81 min from Bilaspur and 107 min from Chandigarh.
When is Naina Devi most crowded?
At the two Navratris and in the month of Sawan, when tens of thousands climb the hill in a day. Go on an ordinary weekday morning if you can. If you go at a festival, start early, keep to the railings on the steps, and keep children close in the crowd.