Shrouded in secret, Shikari Devi temple, a must for all seeking spiritual direction and a delight for adventurous trekkers trying to find thrills in risky terrains, is positioned at a peak of 2850m earlier mentioned sea amount in Himachal Pradesh, a state lying in the foothills of mighty Himalayas. Through historical instances, the hunters (shikari) made use of to pray to the goddess to present them with prey. This is how the shrine was named “Shikari Devi” – The goddess of hunters.
The most mysterious fact of this historical temple is that it has no roof and till date, no person has been able to build a roof on it. The snow never ever falls inside the temple irrespective of of heavy snowfalls in the region. There have been no wild animal assaults claimed outside the house the temple premises and no hen or plane can fly on top of the temple in a way that its shadow really should drop on the deity. The birds have been witnessed dropping dead from sky if their shadows ever fell on the shrine. There was a fatal accident claimed in 1996 of the plane of Himachal’s mayor in which he perished alongside with his spouse, child and his pilot. The aircraft was reported to be traveling at a low height over the shrine due to which it shadowed the shrine and consequently, the incident took place.
This temple is found at the peak of a hill which required crossing major snow-protected mountains and thick forests total of wild animals, just a couple days in the past. Currently, Himachal tourism has opened up a several clearings in the jungle for vehicles to access near the peak. On the other hand, it is nevertheless really tough to trek to the temple from Karsog Valley, Jhanjheli, Chindi. Nevertheless, it is a paradise for character lovers with its lush greenery, pine trees, deodar woods and apple orchards, together with the pristine whites of the major snowfall transpiring below from Oct till April.
Mythology states that sage Markandeye had identified as the highly effective woman deity Durga as a result of meditation to this hill where the goddess left a stone statue of herself by bestowing it with divine powers. Later on on, Pandavas crafted the temple construction for the goddess for the duration of their exile and obtained a boon from her to be equipped to defeat Kauravas in the epic fight of Mahabharata. She certain them of victory, a struggle which she said, would be fought for generations from a variety of types of evil.
Every single yr, through Navratra pageant, a reasonable is held here which appeals to devotees from all more than the world, trying to find blessings from the deity.
The spot is approachable by road as organized by the Himachal authorities, masking a distance of 16 km. The devotees have to climb 500 stairs to arrive at temple premises, if achieved via highway. The closest railhead is Joginder Nagar railway station.
How to Reach:
Mandi-Dadaur-Chailchowk-Thunag-Janjehli-Shikari-94 Kms.
Trek Routes:
Shikari Devi-Bakhrot-Chindi: 18 Kms
Shikari Devi-Raigarh-Shankar Dehra: 15 Kms
Shikari-Kamrunag 16 Kms
