Temples in Himachal

Jwalamukhi Temple

The Temple located on small spur on a Dharamshala- Shimla road at a distance of about 20 km from the Jwalamukhi Road Railway Station attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year.
Jwalamukhi is a famous temple to the goddess Jwalamukhi the deity of flaming mouth, built over some natural jets of combustible gas, believed to be the manifestation of the Goddess.The site was traced and the Raja built a temple at that location. Raja Bhumi Chand Katoch of Kangra, a great devotee of goddess Durga, dreamt of the sacred place. No idol is located in the temple and the deity is worshipped in the form of flames which come out from the crevices of the rock. Usually milk and water are offered and the ahutis or oblations are offered to the sacred flames in the pit, situated in the centre of the temple in between the floor pillars supporting the roof. Maharaja Ranjit Singh paid a visit to the temple in 1815 and the dome of the temple was
gold-plated by him. Just a few feet above the Jwalamukhi temple there is a six-feet deep pit with a circumference of about three-feet. At the bottom of this pit there is another small pit about one and a half feet deep with hot water bubbling all the time.The Mughal Emporer Akbar learning about the legends of Jwalamukhi tried to douse the flames with a stream of water. However , the great power of the Goddess, still kept the flames burning. Realizing the power of Jwala Devi, Akbar came with his army to this temple. He brought a Gold umbrella (Chatra) for the Goddess, but on offering, the umbrella turned into an unknown metal suggesting that the Goddess didn't accept his offering.

Kangra Temple

 Popularly known as Nagarkot Dham or Kot Kangra, the temple dedicated to goddess Vajreshwari Devi was once the most renowned shrines of Northern India. It is a famous Shaktipeeth where the left breast of Pauranik Sati Parvati is stated to have fallen. The Devi is worshipped in the form of Pindi. A legend avers that the body of demon king Jalandhara is buried at this place. According to another legend, the Goddess Vajreshwari received injuries while killing the demon Mahishasur which were cured by applying butter. The tradition is still celebrated on Makar Sakranti every year. Though the main temple was ravaged by foreign invaders and completely destroyed by the 1905 earthquake, it has been restored to its pristine glory. It was rebuilt by the Temple Restoration

Committee in the existing form in 1930. The three domes of this temple depict the architecture of religions places of Hindu, Muslims and Sikhs which is quite rare. Kangra is a historical town of Himachal Pradesh. The old town was destroyed by earthquake of 1905 and the present one is the new Kangra town. The wealthy and famous Brajeswari temple is located here and is one of the fifty-one sacred Hindu shaktipeeths. This temple was target of many invasions including one by Mahmud of Ghazni.This area is well connected by rail ( from Kangra station of Pathankot - Joginder Nagar meter gauge Train) by road from nearby Kangra, Dharamsala and Palampur.