Sri Hinglaj Mata Shakthi Peeth Temple, Pakistan

Address

Sri Hinglaj Mata Mandir, Hingol National Park, Road، Asha Pura, Las Bela District, Balochistan, Pakistan

Deity

Shakti: Kottari Bhairava: Bhimlochan Body part or ornament: Bramharandhra (Part of the head)

Introduction

Hinglaj Mata also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and NaniMandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, and is the middle of the Hingol National Park. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in Shaktism denomination of Hinduism. It is one of the two Shakti Peethas in Pakistan, other being Shivaharkaray. It is a form of Durga or Devi in a mountain cavern on the banks of the Hingol River. Over the last three decades the place has gained increasing popularity and became a unifying point of reference for Pakistan’s many Hindu communities. HinglajYatra is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan. More than 250,000 people take part in the HinglajYathra during the spring.

Puranic Significance

In Hindu mythology, the son of Brahma, King Prajapati Daksha had a daughter named Sati.Princess Sati grew up adoring the legends and tales of Shiva, and when finally her age of getting married came, she knew it was only the ascetic Lord Shiva of Kailash where her heart and soul resided. Soon enough, Daksha’s daughter left her father’s luxuries and palace and began her meditation to win Shiva’s heart.She performed intense penance in dense forests and renounced food completely. When she finally pleased Shiva through her austerities, the lord of Kailash appeared in front of her and agreed to marry her. The legend goes that Sati and Shiva were happy in their marital bliss, but their marriage had not gone down too well with King Daksha, who considered ascetic Shiva nothing short of an uncouth lad who lives a hermit’s life not worthy of his daughter. So when Daksha organized a great yajna, he invited all the deities, gods and sages–but consciously excluded his son-in-law Shiva to insult him. Hurt by her father’s decision, Sati decided to visit her father and demand the reason for not inviting them. When she entered Daksha’s palace, she was bombarded with insults directed towards the Shiva.Haughty and proud King Prajapati Daksha called him all sorts of names right from a dishevelled god who hung out in graveyard to the supposed ‘lord of the beasts’. Unable to bear anything against her husband, a devastated Goddess Sati threw herself in the glowing scared fire of yajna.When Shiva’s attendants informed him about the demise of his wife, he grew enraged and created Veerbhadra from a lock of his hair. Veerbhadra created havoc in Daksha’s palace and killed him.Meanwhile, mourning his beloved soulmate’s death, Shiva tenderly held Sati’s body and started his dance of destruction (taandav). To save the universe and bring back Shiva’s sanity, Lord Vishnu cut Sati’s lifeless body using Sudharshan Chakra into 51 pieces.

Special Features

The shrine is in a small natural cave. There is a low mud altar. There is no man-made image of the goddess.

The temple here is a cave temple. Mata’s Deity form sits in a cave which is built on a high hill. There is a temple of Mata Hinglaj Devi in the mountain cave with no door. The orbiters of the temple enter through one of the caves and leave the other side. Along with the temple are the glasses of Guru Gorakhnath. It is believed that Mata Hinglaj Devi comes here to bathe in the morning.

Here Mata Sati is revered as Kotari while Lord Bholenath Bhimalochan is Bhairava. In the Mata Hinglaj temple’s premises, besides the statue of Sriganesh, Kalika Mata, there are famous pilgrimages like Brahmakund and Tirunkund. This Adi Shakti is worshiped only by Hindus, and Muslims are also highly respected by them. To enter the Hinglaj temple, one has to climb the stone steps. The temple first has a darshan of Shri Ganesha, who gives siddhis. In front, there is a statue of Goddess Hinglaj Devi, who is in the form of ‘Mata Vaishno Devi’. A small shapeless stone is worshiped as Hinglaj Mata. The stone is smeared with sindoor (vermilion), which possibly gives the location its Sanskrit name Hingula, which is the root of the present-day name Hinglaj.

Belief

Belief of Brahmakshatriyas

The Brahmakshatriya community and Charan community also known as Gadhvi venerate Hinglaj Mata as their family deity. They believe that when the god Parashurama was persecuting kshatriyas (the warrior caste), some Brahmins (priest caste) provided protection to 12 kshatriyas and disguised them as Brahmins, and they were protected by Hinglaj Mata. Another variation of the tale is that the sage Dadhichi provided protection to Ratnasena, a king ruling in Sind, in his ashram (hermitage). However, Parashurama killed him when he ventured out. His sons remained in the ashram. When Parashurama visited the ashram, they were disguised as Brahmins. One of them, Jayasena, returned to Sind to rule the kingdom, armed with a protective mantra of Hinglaj Mata, given by Dadhici. Hinglaj Mata protected Jayasena and ordered Parshurama to end his killing spree.

Festivals

Durga Puja and Navaratri, special pooja is organized. On this day, the temple is decorated with flowers and lights. The fair is held on this date for two months from Navratri of Chaitra month.

References by:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinglaj_Mata_mandir