History-Vaishnav Devi

The tale is around thousands of years old, when a comely maiden called "Vaishnavi" was created by the three lords in a human form. Vaishnavi was a devotee of Lord Vishnu as is reflected by the name. She took a vow of chastity and spent almost all her life in meditation and prayers. With time she attained enormous spiritual powers and even got an assurance from Lord Rama that he will marry her in Kali-Yug. This is the reason why she is also known as Adh Kanwari or the "eternal virgin". Mata Vaishnav Devi established an ashram in the foothills of the Trikuta Mountain and began her meditation.

Gradually her glory started spreading and people began to gather at her ashram to seek her blessings. A Tantrik called Gorakh Nath, who had a vision of the whole episode between Lord Rama and Mata Vaishnav Devi, became curious and wanted to know more about her. So, he sent his disciple `Bhairon Nath' to find out. Bhairon Nath started observing her secretly and realized that despite being a `Sadhvi', she always carried a bow and arrows and was always surrounded by langoor (apes) and a ferocious lion. The demon God(Bhairon) took a fancy to her, which Mata Vaishnav Devi refused and fled to the Himalayas to continue her spiritual quest.

On the way the goddess felt thirsty at Banganga and shot an arrow into the earth from where the water gushed out. At present Charan Paduka, which is marked by the imprints of her feet, is the place where she rested. The Goddess then meditated in the cave at Adh Kanwari. It took Bhairon nine months to locate her, which is why the cave is also known as Garbh Joon. When the demon found her, Mata Vaishnav Devi blasted an opening at the other end of the cave and fled up to the Holy cave at Darbar, the main temple. However, Bhairon followed her there to harass her. Then goddess became very angry. She assumed the form of Mata Kali and beheaded Bhairon outside the cave with the help of the flying disc(chakra) given to her by Lord Krishna.

The head of Bhairon Nath fell at a distant hilltop. In his dying moments, Bhairon begged and received divine forgiveness from the goddess. Today, it is believed that the Yatra is not complete unless the pilgrim has been to Bhairon ka Mandir which is almost 2.5 kms from the main bhavana(temple), after the darshan of Shri Mata Vaishnav Devi. The goddess herself took up permanent abode in a cave in the Trikuta Mountains by metamorphosing herself in to three pindis (Rock). This holy shrine of Mata Vaishnav Devi is unique as it contains the holiest of holy Pindis manifesting the Mata in her three forms - Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati - each form representing a particular attribute.

Maha Kali represents Tamas Guna, Tamas meaning darkness. In her manifestation of Kali the omnipotent, absolute and all pervasive, she is said to be beyond fear and finite existence and is therefore able to protect her devotees against fear and to give them limitless peace. Maha Lakshmi represents Rajas Guna, Rajas meaning prosperity. In this manifestation, the goddess blesses her devotees with wealth and prosperity for living a better life. Maha Saraswati represents Sattav Guna, Sattav meaning wisdom and knowledge. This manifestation enables her devotees to distinguish between good and bad and helps them to adopt the right path in life. The combination of these three attributes in a single Shakti is a unique combination, which is what makes it, revered all over the world.