 The charming hill resort of Nainital gets its
name from the Goddess Naina Devi. A temple dedicated to the
deity stands here. The Naina Devi temple is situated atop Naina
hillock in Nainital. Thousands of pilgrims gather here every
year around September to worship Goddess Parvati. The temple
of Naina Devi is situated about 7 miles from Anandpore Sahib
on Bhakra Nangal rail –line. The temple is situated on Shivalik
Mountain and devotees have to cover a distance of above 2 km
on foot. It takes for the normal Devotee about half an hour
to reach the temple from the foothill.The temple is dedicated
to the Goddess Bhagwati ( Durga). The Goddess Naina Devi is
worshipped as a single self born pindi. There is another pindi
of Ganesha and a third established by the Pandavas. This is
believed to be the 'shakti pita' where Sati's eye fell. Naina
means eye. The temple is also known as Mahishapitha because
of it's association with Mahishasur. Naina devi temple is one
of the 52 Sati piths according to Hindu scriptures and is perched
at 11000mtr.above sea–level, on shivalik range in Bilaspur district
of Himachal Pradesh, India. It's scenic beauty is marvelous
and all the devotees gets peace and blessings of Ma Naina Devi.
It's surrounded by Govind Sagar lake and Bharka Dam. Naina Devi
is a great source of comfort, strength and influence on the
soul searching. Those yearning for solace, peace and salvation,
it is a dream destination and abode of peace.
Legend
Legend is that Sati, another name of goddess Parvati and wife
of Lord Shiva, jumped into the sacrificial bonfire. To mourn
the death of his beloved wife, Lord Shiva carried the body
across the country. Then Lord Vishnu unleashed his Chakra
and cut the Sati’s body into fifty one pieces to save the
earth from Shiva’s wrath. Parts of her body fell at various
places which became sacred worship places for the Hindus.
The temple here is said to have been built on the precise
spot where Sati's eyes had fallen.The picturesque blue green
Naini lake located near the temple is said to be the eyes
of Sati.
 Histroy
Near the Shivalik mountain, there used to live a community
of Guzars among them was a devotee of durga named Naina he
used to take is cattle on to the shivalik mountain for grazing.
There was a papal tree which is existing even today in the
temple premises. Naina often observed that milk would flow
down from the breast of cows which have not given birth to
the babies when they stand under that papal tree, Naina wondered
over this incidence. one day Naina went under that tree and
saw that there was an idol of durga beneath the leaves of
the tree. The same day Durga Maa appeared in the dreams of
Naina at night and said to him "I am Adishakti Durga
" you should build a temple at this place under the papal
tree and I will become famous with your name. Naina was a
staunch devotee of Durga and in the morning the next day he
laid down for the temple. Very soon the information and importance
of this place went around in all directions and devotees started
powering in for darshan. This beautiful temple is known as
Naina Devi Temple since then. There is also a cave near the
temple which is known as the cave of Naina Devi.
Places to see
Near the temple is the Tibetan market which sells many interesting
items. The Nainital Boat Club is a popular tourist attraction.Many
of our film directors have captured the lake for song sequences.
Many of our film directors have captured the lake for song
sequences. The sunset over the lake is an amazing sight. The
reflection of the surrounding mountains in the lake creates
a image which is indescribably beautiful.
Main Attraction
Naina Devi welcomes one and all throughout the year .More
so, the volume swells on the auspicious occasion of 3 festivals
Navratris, Shravani & Chaitra .The Navaratri celebration
in Sept –Oct is the largest fair and two more annual melas
i.e. Shravani Mela in July-August & Chaitra mela in March-April
, attract lakhs of people of divergent religious faith, caste,
creed and culture. The colourful melas become the melting
pot of Hindus, Sikhs and others-a unique sight of real Unity
in Diversity.
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