The Mahamaya Temple is situated on the outskirts of the Jammu city towards its eastern side on the bank of the river Tawi, which is actually the sub-mountain tract of the Southern Himalayas,known as the Shivaliks. It is dedicated to Goddess Mahamaya and is present inside the forest area. The Mahamaya Temple is at a distance of 3kms from the Bahu Fort by road and is quite visible from the Jammu City. Many people having faith on the Goddess Mahamaya go to the Mahamaya temple for paying obeisance after worshiping ‘‘Kali’’ or ‘‘Bawe Wali Mata’’.
More than a century ago, the Mahamaya temple area was covered with dense forests and had wildlife of various species living in it. Even 60 years ago this area was home of a number of peacocks, owls, monkeys, tiger etc. But due to many severe man-made environmental calamities like soil erosion, landslides, floods, deforestation, grazing beyond carrying capacity, almost whole of this area has transformed into degraded forests. In 1982 this same area was declared as city forest by the then Governor Sh Jagmohan, to preserve natural habitat to enrich biodiversity / environment. But it could not be developed much due to encroachment of most of the area by the Gujjars and Bakerwals. They even have begun permanent construction upon the forest land. Frequent breaking out of forest fires is another cause for the destruction of forests.
According to the history of Mahamaya Temple, thousands of years back, there was a state known as Dhara Nagri. Dhara Nagri was a beautiful, clean and green city and was ruled by the king Vikramjeet. King Vikramjeet was an honest, truthful and religious man. He was a good administrator and everybody was happy and prosperous during his reign. In case of any disaster the king used to provide all reliefs to the people. People had full faith on the Mahamaya Goddess and thought that was because of Her boons/blessings Dhara Nagri was quite safe and progressive. But after the death of king Vikramjeet, his kingdom fell in to the hands of his and started to fall down in reputation.
It was because Vikramjeet's son was not well versed with the governing rules. He used to pass his time mostly in evil deeds, due to which the people of Dhara Nagri city always remained surrounded with troubles and had no hope to get justice. Soon many people left the city and ultimately the ruling system comprised only of cruel people who accepted bribes from the general masses. The people rarely used to go to the Mahamaya temple because of which the Godess Mahamaya became annoyed at the King and the dwelling people. She showed her wonders by way of bringing an earth quake.
Due to the earthquake, the whole city of Dhara Nagri was got buried into the debris and especially all the buildings of the king. Population of the city considerably decreased and many alive people left the city and settled somewhere else. The area became unpopulated and later on converted into thick forest. The Mahamaya temple got covered in the forests and was destroyed. The idol of the Goddess was also buried under the soil in a corner of hill forest on the bank of the river Tawi. Thus, according to this legend the idol of the Mahamaya temple is very old which survived the earth quake destruction. According to some well known historians the temple of Goddess Mahamaya dates back to Satyug.
Another legend says that when Maharaja Gulab Singh was ruling Jammu from 1822 to 1857, one night the Goddess Mahamaya appeared in his dream and said ‘‘My idol is lying beneath the soil in a corner of forest hill on the bank of the Tawi river since long and nobody has paid any attention to lift it for keeping in a temple duly built in.’’ She further said, ‘‘Lift this idol at the earliest and establish with full worship after building a temple.’’ Maharaja Gulab Singh then came to the spot and searched for the idol but was not able to find it, so, the Goddess Mahamaya herself led the way and showed the spot to the King. Maharaja Gulab Singh on finding the idol constructed the temple and installed the idol with proper respect and worship. If this legend is considered to be correct then the same 150 years idol of the Goddess Mahamaya is there in the temple.
But some historians, believe that Goddess Mahamaya came in the dream of Maharaja Ranbir Singh instead of Maharaja Gulab Singh who was the son of the latter. Thus, Maharaja Ranbir Singh is believed to have build the temple for keeping the searched out idol in it. It is also said that due to heavy rains accompanied with soil erosion/land slides and floods during 1986, the temple was damaged and thus a new temple was constructed under the supervision of former Governor Jagmohan. Metaled road has been constructed from Nagrota bypass to Mahamaya Temple for the pilgrims so that they can bring in their vehicles upto the temple. A hall for the pilgrims has also been constructed.
From the Mahamaya Temple one can have the full glamorous view of the Jammu City. The climate here is pleasant and the Tawi basin is very attractive. The place is surrounded by fascinating trees and bushes like Dalbergia Sisso, Acacia Nilotica, Acacia catechu, Acacia modesta, Cassia fistula, and Carissa spinarum, Dodonea Viscosa. People can visit this temple from September to April anytime. The temple is accessible from all the spots of the city. Regular transport is available from all the connecting points. Minibuses and Autorickshaws can also take you right upto the fort on payment of nominal fare.
More than a century ago, the Mahamaya temple area was covered with dense forests and had wildlife of various species living in it. Even 60 years ago this area was home of a number of peacocks, owls, monkeys, tiger etc. But due to many severe man-made environmental calamities like soil erosion, landslides, floods, deforestation, grazing beyond carrying capacity, almost whole of this area has transformed into degraded forests. In 1982 this same area was declared as city forest by the then Governor Sh Jagmohan, to preserve natural habitat to enrich biodiversity / environment. But it could not be developed much due to encroachment of most of the area by the Gujjars and Bakerwals. They even have begun permanent construction upon the forest land. Frequent breaking out of forest fires is another cause for the destruction of forests.According to the history of Mahamaya Temple, thousands of years back, there was a state known as Dhara Nagri. Dhara Nagri was a beautiful, clean and green city and was ruled by the king Vikramjeet. King Vikramjeet was an honest, truthful and religious man. He was a good administrator and everybody was happy and prosperous during his reign. In case of any disaster the king used to provide all reliefs to the people. People had full faith on the Mahamaya Goddess and thought that was because of Her boons/blessings Dhara Nagri was quite safe and progressive. But after the death of king Vikramjeet, his kingdom fell in to the hands of his and started to fall down in reputation. It was because Vikramjeet's son was not well versed with the governing rules. He used to pass his time mostly in evil deeds, due to which the people of Dhara Nagri city always remained surrounded with troubles and had no hope to get justice. Soon many people left the city and ultimately the ruling system comprised only of cruel people who accepted bribes from the general masses. The people rarely used to go to the Mahamaya temple because of which the Godess Mahamaya became annoyed at the King and the dwelling people. She showed her wonders by way of bringing an earth quake. Due to the earthquake, the whole city of Dhara Nagri was got buried into the debris and especially all the buildings of the king. Population of the city considerably decreased and many alive people left the city and settled somewhere else. The area became unpopulated and later on converted into thick forest. The Mahamaya temple got covered in the forests and was destroyed. The idol of the Goddess was also buried under the soil in a corner of hill forest on the bank of the river Tawi. Thus, according to this legend the idol of the Mahamaya temple is very old which survived the earth quake destruction. According to some well known historians the temple of Goddess Mahamaya dates back to Satyug.Another legend says that when Maharaja Gulab Singh was ruling Jammu from 1822 to 1857, one night the Goddess Mahamaya appeared in his dream and said ‘‘My idol is lying beneath the soil in a corner of forest hill on the bank of the Tawi river since long and nobody has paid any attention to lift it for keeping in a temple duly built in.’’ She further said, ‘‘Lift this idol at the earliest and establish with full worship after building a temple.’’ Maharaja Gulab Singh then came to the spot and searched for the idol but was not able to find it, so, the Goddess Mahamaya herself led the way and showed the spot to the King. Maharaja Gulab Singh on finding the idol constructed the temple and installed the idol with proper respect and worship. If this legend is considered to be correct then the same 150 years idol of the Goddess Mahamaya is there in the temple.But some historians, believe that Goddess Mahamaya came in the dream of Maharaja Ranbir Singh instead of Maharaja Gulab Singh who was the son of the latter. Thus, Maharaja Ranbir Singh is believed to have build the temple for keeping the searched out idol in it. It is also said that due to heavy rains accompanied with soil erosion/land slides and floods during 1986, the temple was damaged and thus a new temple was constructed under the supervision of former Governor Jagmohan. Metaled road has been constructed from Nagrota bypass to Mahamaya Temple for the pilgrims so that they can bring in their vehicles upto the temple. A hall for the pilgrims has also been constructed.From the Mahamaya Temple one can have the full glamorous view of the Jammu City. The climate here is pleasant and the Tawi basin is very attractive. The place is surrounded by fascinating trees and bushes like Dalbergia Sisso, Acacia Nilotica, Acacia catechu, Acacia modesta, Cassia fistula, and Carissa spinarum, Dodonea Viscosa. People can visit this temple from September to April anytime. The temple is accessible from all the spots of the city. Regular transport is available from all the connecting points. Minibuses and Autorickshaws can also take you right upto the fort on payment of nominal fare.
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