History

Historys

Tucked high up on the sacred Trikuta Mountains, the holy shrine of the divine Goddess is in an ancient cave. Goddess Vaishno Devi is believed to be the manifestation of all the positive and negative energies of the world because of being an embodiment of Goddess Mahasaraswati, Mahalakshmi, and Mahakali.
It is one of the rarest Shakti Peethas (the hub of supreme power) that is of mythological as well as historical importance. As per the studies conducted by some reckoned geologists, the temple is millions of years old, and the origin of the temple still stands anonymous. As per the legends, Mata Vaishno Devi incarnated in Treta Yuga as a beautiful princess for the welfare of mankind. She went to the Trikuta Mountain to perform penances, and at the end, her mortal body merged into the astral form of divine energies.

The tale of the ardent devotees and the pious mothers

Probably everyone knows the tale of Sridhar, who was an ardent devotee of Mata Vaishno Devi centuries ago. Both Shridhar and his wife worshipped the Goddess with unconditional love. Legends say that once Shridhar received a divine command to organize a public feast which was otherwise known as a Bhandara. He had a humble financial situation so he failed to get abundant groceries for the guests. Worried about all the guilt and embarrassment for failing to feed the guests, he couldn’t sleep the whole night and he prayed to Mata. When the sun rose, the Goddess appeared in poor Shridhar’s hut as an adorable girl child and the feast was served and prepared to the villagers on her will. Every single soul in the feast ate to their heart’s content except Bhairav Nath who demanded the meal of an animal. The Goddess refused to oblige Bhairav Nath. Unable to bear the insult, the wicked saint followed the little girl lo and behold but the Goddess vanished. Shridhar was grief-stricken and prayed devastatingly to get a glimpse of the divine mother. Then one night the Goddess showed him the way to the Trikuta mountains in her dream and Shridhar went to the cave to discover the holy shrine. Later the word spread, and devotees from all across the world started visiting Mata Vaishno Devi.

The bottom line

It is also believed that no one can visit the Goddess unless she herself beckons her devotees to visit her.

Wise or ignorant, rich or poor, men or women, everyone await her bulawa (divine call). The shrine of the Goddess brims with divine vibrations. The path is an arduous 24 km of to and fro trek but it’s worth it because of the spiritual sustenance that the path brings along.