Jammu - Himachal Yatra (Part 7)

Yellow was the theme

Our first dawn at McLeod Ganj (MG) was early as in Dalhousie nearly as beautiful. I had a room with a view of the mountain facing the east side. As the mountain was huge, the Sun came to view much later after the Sunrise. As it was warmer here, some of us managed to wash a few clothes in the morning and left it to dry. Breakfast at The Posh was good but some of the yatris preferred to go to a nearby restaurant called Agarwal Pure Veg. The food service starts here late (by 8.45 a.m.) and there are only 4 tables here too. The quality of food was really excellent.

By 9.30 a.m., we left for our first destination which was a Shakti Peetham called Jwala Mukhi. Most of us were dressed in yellow or similar shades as we were told that it is the custom in one of the temples we were to visit that day. Jwala Mukhi was about 58 kms from our hotel and the ride lasted almost 2 and quarter hours. The route was very warm almost bordering on hot once we left the cooler climes of MG. It was nearly noon at Jwala Mukhi where a long queue awaited us. We had to walk nearly 700 meters slightly uphill from the vehicle drop area to reach the temple. 8 of us walked while about 7 took a local autorickshaw.

The Perpetual fire 

Jwala Mukhi temple is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths of India situated in the lap of the Shivalik range of Kangra valley. It is believed to have been the first temple built by the Pandavas and is dedicated to the Goddess of Light. Sati's various body parts which had fallen in different places became ShaktiPeeths and this place is where her tongue fell. There is no deity or idol that is worshipped here. 

The queue outside the temple was virtually not moving due to aarti going on inside and the heat became unbearable. After some time, I went to a nearby shop to buy some water and prasad offerings. The shopkeeper told me that he can arrange a quick darshan for us by talking to a priest who will take us inside from a side door in exchange for some consideration. A deal was done, a phone call was made and soon a young priest appeared before us and escorted us to a small waiting hall which had a number of paintings and idol of the Devi.

Outside Jwalamukhi temple

After the aarti got over the regular queue started moving and he took us along with some other devotees and made us join the que near the entrance of the temple. As is the situation in most Indian temples, people go inside temples in a disorderly manner, shouting loudly praises of the Deity, carrying their offerings above the head and almost causing a stampede like atmosphere. We managed to go in after a short while and had the darshan of Jwala ji which is an eternal fire coming out of a rocky pit-side. The source of the fuel for this fire is unknown and it is always burning. In the pit a few priests stand and accept the offerings and return the prasad to the devotee. There is also yet another eternal fire on a side wall. The temperature inside the sanctum was very hot. 

Bagala Mukhi temple

After this darshan, we paid dakshina to the priest, took some photos and returned down to the parking area. On the way, we had some cool drinks and did some minor purchases from the shops. After we boarded the vehicle, we travelled for some distance back towards MG. On the way, we stopped at a pure vegetarian dhaba for lunch. The place was deserted till we came but on seeing us, some more vehicles stopped. The food was cooked only after we gave our order. It was fresh, tasty and very cheap. The meal for 15 persons plus tips was only Rs. 2400.

Havan in progress

10 kms from this place, we arrived at the Bagala Mukhi Devi temple also known as Pitambari Devi. This is a Siddha Peeth which is believed to be one of the 10 Mahavidyas  created to destroy evil. Yellow is the favourite color of the Devi and the entire temple is painted yellow. Devotees wear yellow dress, offer yellow desserts to the Deity.This Devi is worshipped to win over the heart of ones beloved and to defeat enemies.

It was mid afternoon and therefore very hot when we reached here. Fortunately, there weren't many people in the que. Within 15 minutes, we got the darshan of the Devi and stepped out of the Sanctum. About 3 large havans were being conducted just outside the temple. The fire from the havans and the heat from the overhead Sun made a deadly combination. After taking pictures, we went to the parking area and boarded the vehicle for our next destination. 

Bajreshwari Mata

The next destination was the Bajreshwari Devi temple which is another Shaktipeeth. This is also known as the Shree Vajreshwari or the Kangra Devi temple. The left breast of Sati fell here when her deceased body was cut by Lord Vishnu with the Sudarshana Chakra to prevent Lord Shiva from destroying the world with His Tandav dance. This temple was also built by the Pandavas who saw Durga Devi in their dream and were told to build a temple for Her.

Outside Bajreshwari 

The temple is beautiful and serene. We had to walk almost a kilometer through crowded market place to reach here. With hardly 20-30 people ahead of us, the darshan was comfortable and priest was kind enough to allow us to photograph the deity. After coming out, we took some photographs of ourselves also. Then we walked back towards our vehicle. There was a slight drizzle on the way which we considered as the blessings of the Devi being showered upon us.

Behind Bajreshwari temple

MG was at a distance of only 25 kms from here and we were thinking we will be well on time for some shopping near our hotel. The place is amazing and has a flavour of a country from the far east due to the large presence of Tibetan and other people of that side. There were many lovely small shops which we would have loved to explore. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. We were caught in a huge traffic jam just outside of MG. And as it was raining, we could not leave the vehicle to walk back. After more than an hour, the rains stopped and some of us walked back the 1.5 kms to the hotel. it was too late by then to think of any shopping. The rains as well as the altitude of MG made it pleasantly cool which was welcome.

Some of us skipped dinner and had fruits instead. A few others had a small meal at Agarwal Pure veg after waiting for some time to get a table. When we reached back, we found the clothes kept for drying had got wet in the rain which had to be kept under the fan during the night for drying. The next day, we were checking out of the hotel and proceeding down in the plains which was expected to become hot as ever.