Regarded as one of the holiest places of worship by the Hindus, the Vaishno Devi shrine in Raesi district of Jammu and Kashmir is thronged by 8 million devotees every year. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Vaishnavi or Vaishno Devi, who is known to be a form of the Mother Goddess. The shrine is situated at an altitude of 5200 feet and lies near the town of Katra. In terms of influx of devotees it comes second only to the Tirupathi Balaji Temple in South India.  

Mostly the shrine is accessed from Jammu because of the high frequency of domestic airlines as it is the nearest airport. The main pilgrimage includes walking up a steep hill to visit the Bhavan where the manifestation of the mother Goddess in the form of a three headed stone can be seen. Ponies, palanquins and helicopters are made available by the shrine's trust. The temple trust makes a stay in this place comfortable. The Vaishno Devi shrine is designated as 'the Elder sister' among the other shrines dedicated to the Mother Goddess. There are six other temples known in the difficult Siwalik ranges but this temple precedes all others in terms of devotional importance.

There are ample legends that relate to the existence of this shrine, out of which some are very well known and believed. The most heard is that which includes Shri Dhar, a Vaishnavite Brahmin who was a very devoted worshipper of Goddess Vaishno Devi. He resided in close proximity to the town of Katra. Pleased by his devotion, Goddess appeared in front of him in the form of a charming girl and asked him to arrange a Bhandara, a feast for some 350 devotees in a small hut. He obliged and started to make the necessary arrangements. A shrewd tantrik Bhairavnath was invited by Shri Dhar along with many other devotees residing around the town. The tantric questioned Shri Dhar about how he was going to arrange the feast for so many people in a small hut. This suddenly made Shri Dhar conscious about his abilities. But then, Goddess again appeared in the form of the girl and assured him that everything would be alright and that he should go ahead with arranging the feast. Dhar realised very soon that the girl was true to her word, no problems arose in the feast and everything went very well.

The feast confirmed Bhairav's doubt that the girl was a supernatural being, more so a manifestation of the Mother Goddess. He tried to catch the trail of the girl and moved around the surrounding mountains for 9 months to confront her. The Goddess, wanting to avoid a confrontation and hide her identity, kept on running away from him until finally he found her abode in a cave named Garbh Joon. She was meditating in the cave when he found her. She had to manifest into Goddess Kali, at the entrance of the holy cave and cut Bhairav's head when he tried to kill her using his dark magic. His skull fell down at a place which is today called as the Bhairav Ghati.

In his last moments, the evil tantrik begged for mercy and forgiveness. Goddess, being a generous mother, forgave him and relieved him from the cycle of reincarnation. Not only that she blessed him with a boon, every pilgrim has to visit the Bhairav Ghati or the Bhairav Nath temple before coming to her abode. Without visiting his temple, the pilgrimage is not complete. The Goddess took a form of a rock with three heads and immersed herself into meditation.

Restless, Shri Dhar treaded the same path which Goddess had shown him in his dream and reached the holy cave. He worshipped the rock with all his heart. Pleased by his devotion, Vaishno Devi blessed and since then his descendents have been ardent devotees of the Goddess.

People believe different legends about the temple but no matter what they believe they have immense faith in the power of the Goddess and make it a point to visit this difficult to reach yet beautiful shrine once in their lives. They seek blessings of the Goddess and pray for a happy and prosperous life. It is also believed that while running away from Bhairav, the Goddess got thirsty and shot an arrow in the earth. A river, now named Baanganga sprang to life from which she drank water. Her footprints are still intact on the banks of this river. A devotee who takes a dip in this river gets relieved of all his sins. For millions of devotees who visit this shrine every year regard it as a place where after a lot of efforts one can achieve spiritual peace and contentment.

Quick Reference

Vaishno Devi shrine is a very important shrine to the Hindus. It lies in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, mainly in the Raesi district. It is easily accessible from Jammu as it is the nearest airport. The Vaishno Devi shrine is considered as the most important shrine amongst the seven shrines present in the Siwalik ranges. A rock with what appear like three heads (pindi) is worshipped as a manifestation of the Mother Goddess. Over 8 million throng this temple every year and this is the most visited temple after the Tirupati temple in south India.