Navratri 2022: Goddess Chintpurni Shakti Peeth Of Himachal Pradesh

Maa Chintpurni Temple is located at Chintpurni, Una district Himachal Pradesh at a motorable distance from Kangra and Una, at an elevation of about 3,200 feet above the ground level. This is the famous abode of Chintpurni or Chinnamasta shakti peeth.

This place is where the head of Goddess Sati fell and was later enshrined here as Chinnamasta Shakti peeth. Surprisingly Goddess Chinnamasta has a head that is detached from her body and kept in one of her hands. It may sound scary, but the Goddess never disappoints anyone who comes here in ardent faith and belief, as per the experience of thousands of her devotees. This very popular temple is situated on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and in very close proximity to the Jwalamukhi temple.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: Iconography

Goddess Chinnamasta means the one with severed head. Since, Goddess Chinnamasta who holds her severed head in her hands, has a different story associated with her. As per Markandeya Puranam Goddess Chandi defeated demons which was when two of her yoginis, Jaya and Vijaya, unable to quench their thirst for blood, asked for more. Goddess Chandi severed her own head, to let Jaya and Vijaya drink from her decapitated head.

Drinking a stream of blood oozing from her arteries from below her neck, and holding her own head in the other hand, she is accompanied by two yoginis who are engaged drinking another stream of blood.

Chhinnamasta, the headless goddess, proves to her worshippers how separating the mind from the body leads to release of the consciousness from the materialistic shackles of the physical body. She denotes a thoughtless state where all thoughts are blocked to let the divine calm descend into oneself. As per puranas, she is protected by Lord Shiva from all four directions, (Kaleshwar Mahadev in the east, Narayhana Mahadev in the west, Muchkund Mahadev in the north and Shiva Bari in the south, all equidistant from Chintpurni) and has four temples of Mahadev surrounding her temple.

About 26 generations back, this Shrine was set up in Chhaproh Village by a Brahmin Pandit Mai Das, from Patiala Riyasat. Over time this place became known as Chintpurni after the Goddess. His descendants still perform prayers and puja at the Chintpurni temple. These descendants are the official priests of this temple.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: Legend Associated With This Day

Legend has it that once a Brahmin Priest called Mai Dass was on his return journey back home, wherein, in some place, he heard very lilting and comfortable devotional tunes from the peak of the hill. When he reached there, curious to find out what was going on, he saw a girl of about 12-13 years who was seated with a lion beside her, and devas singing her praises around her. When he failed to see the radiant girl eye to eye, he was called by the girl who told him that she was happy with his tapasya and that he should take pindi to his home, worship it, and see that it continues even after his demise. The worship should be conducted twice a day as the Pindi was a reflection of her own image. Anyone who worships this Pindi is believed to get liberated from all worldly worries and hence she came to be called "Chintan Purni Devi".

When Mai Dass told her with folded hands that he had no progeny, Goddess bestowed him children. He worshipped the Pindi on that day but left it in the forest unattended the next day as he had to visit his in laws. Now due to this mistake, he lost his vision. Somehow, he reached the Pindi with the help of passersby and resumed the puja after which he regained his eyesight. He constructed a small, thatched straw hut over the pindi and slowly the number of devotees to this place, grew. Later this place was renamed as Chintpurni, which was named after the Godess herself. The place although called Chhabroh, was renamed as Chintpurni as Goddess arrived in Pandit Mai Dass life, resolved all his material and spiritual problems and accorded him peace of mind. Due to this, the popularity of this place doubled.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: Architecture

The moment you step into the temple, at the entrance, towards the right, you will see a stone, which is known as 'Maidas'. This was exactly where he was supposed to have obtained the darshan of the Goddess. In the Centre portion of the building, there is a round-shaped stone, to see which devotees queue in for long hours. They also go around the temple in pradakshina, a couple of times.

The temple is accompanied by a Banyan tree which is also famous for fulfilling wishes. Towards the west, there is a tree, on the other side of which you can see the figures of Bhairon and Ganesh The gold-plated entrance that faces the north, leads to the temple, which is a single-storeyed stone structure with a square base and dome at the centre of the roof.

Big brass bells hung high near the ceiling, welcoming you with their chimes as you step towards the entrance. Devotees have to strike the bell twice, once while getting inside and once while getting out of the temple. A stone idol can be seen placed on a white marble palanquin in the inside room for which the priests, who are the descendants of Mai dass, sitting next to the Pindi, perform the puja. You can see the stone images of Lord Hanuman and Bhairav engraved on the western portion of the temple roof. Additional verandahs and rooms can be seen to the south and west of the temple. They are for the trustees, priests and devotees to use during festive occasions. One more banyan tree under which mundan for kids is performed is present inside the campus.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: Bhog Offered

The prasad to be offered to Goddess includes seven pieces of betelnut, coconut pieces, and a red flag tied up with a mauli (multicolored cotton yarn). On the eighth day of the fair, halwa and chattar with 84 tiny bells are offered, wherein 84 bells represent 84 lakh births that the devotee takes in order to achieve salvation.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: Celebrations

The Chintpurni fair, otherwise known as the 'Mata Da Mela' is held in village Chintpurni on a hill range near Bharwain. This fair which used to be held near the Chinnamasta temple, was believed to invoke Goddess' presence, yugas back in time.

The fair is held thrice a year, once in Chet (March-April), then in Sawan (July -August) and lastly in Asani ( September -October). In chet and Asanj, the fair is held in Navratri whereas in Sawan it taken place during the first ten days of Shukla Paksha i.e. the bright half of the lunar month. The fair which is residential by nature, lasts for nine days during the Navratri and for ten days in Sawan. During Chet and Asani, it is held first ten days of Shukla paksha wherein it lasts for nine days and then for ten days in Sawan.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: Significance

This holy place has a huge library of Hindu pilgrimage and marriage records which were recorded by the Genealogical society of Utah, USA. It was the collective efforts of the Priests would enter the name, date, hometown and other details of each and every pilgrim and classified them as per family and ancestral information they furnished.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: How To Reach

The Chintpurni temple is located right on top of the highest peaks of Sola SInghi range elevated at on one of the highest peaks of the Sola Singhi range. It is about 3 kilometres west of Bharwain on the Hoshiarpur - Dharamshala road on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The Chintpurni bus stand is hardly a kilometre away from the temple but after this point private vehicles are not allowed entry. There is a very busy market on the way which is full of arts crafts items good enough to be purchased as souvenirs.

Goddess Chinnamasta Temple: Timings

• Winter : 5:30 am - 9:30 pm
• Summer : 4:00 am - 10:00 pm
• Morning Aarti -6:00 am
• Evening Aarti - 8:00 pm

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