A Place Visitation At Once In Life Time -Vaishno Devi Mandir

VAISHNO DEVI JI MANDIR

AT

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Vaishno Devi Mandir is one of the Holy Hindu temples dedicated to Shakthi and located at the Trikuta Mountains within the Indian state of Jammu &Kashmir.

The Yatra to the Holy Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi ji is open throughout the year. The summer months of May, June and July and the festival period of Chaitra (spring) and Sharad- Ashwin (Autumn) Navaratras and New Year vacations witness peak rush.

As a result of this rush, devotees have to often wait for 12-20hours before having Darshan. It is therefore strongly adviced, that for comfortable, quick and satisfying Darshan, the period of peak rush must be avoided.

The Trikuta Mountain where the Shrine is located and the Holy Cave are the gateway to the dimension of Super Consciousness. And just like the Trikuta Mountain, which is one at the base but has three peaks (hence the name Trikoot), the revelation of the Mother Goddess in the Holy Cave is in a natural rock form which is one at the base but has three heads at the top.

These three heads in a natural rock form are known as the Holy Pindies and are worshipped as the revelation of the Mother Goddess. The entire rock body is immersed in water, and a marble platform has now been constructed all around.

The main Darshans remain to be of the three heads called the Holy Pindies. The uniqueness of the Holy Pindies is that although they emanate from one single rock form, each one is distinctly different from the other two in colour and texture.

Towards the right of the devotee is the Holy Pindi of Mata Maha Kali (the Supreme Energy of Dissolution) in the colour associated with Her i.e. black.

In the centre is the Holy Pindi of Mata Maha Lakshmi (the Supreme Energy of Maintenance) with a yellowish-red tinge, the colour associated with Mata Maha Lakshmi.

The Pindi to the extreme left of the viewer is worshipped as the Holy Pindi of Mata Maha Saraswati (the Supreme Energy of Creation). It has a whitish tinge when looked at attentively.

Yatra parchi or registration slip is an important document during the Vaishno Mata darshan. It acts as a documentary permission of SMVDSB that the person/s can precede towards the Bhawan. So the pilgrims should always keep their slip with themselves properly.

Devotees can also book their advanced registration slip from the website of Shrine Board. The registration slip is given free of cost at YRC - Katra but if you make an online booking for the slip it will cost you ` 50 for each person, which is beneficial during the rush hours.

In order to receive it, the visitor has to register his/her name along with the total number of companions. One Yatra Parchi can contain a maximum of 9 family members. If you have more members then take another slip. For those people who have arrived in large groups can take separate registration slips for each family.

Once you reach the Bhawan then Mata's Darshan is allowed in groups. You will need the Yatra parchi to avail your group number from the check-post at the Bhawan. So do not misplace the registration slip as you will be turned back without darshan and other disciplinary actions might be taken by the order of Shrine Board.

The one way distance to the temple is around 35 kms considering which takes around 6-7 hrs on foot, 3.5 hrs on horse and 20 mins by helicopter to reach 5 kms before the temple.

By Air

Jammu is well connected to the rest of India by air. Both Indian Airlines and Jet Airways operate daily flights to Jammu. The average flying time from New Delhi is about 80 minutes.

By Train 

One can also reach Katra by rail. Jammu/Katra is connected to other parts of country on broad gauge and numerous passenger trains ply from various parts of the country. In the peak season of summer and other holidays, the Railways introduce special trains for the comfort of the Yatris. Many superfast trains also ply on this route and one can reach Jammu/Katra overnight from New Delhi.

By Road 

Jammu is well connected through road also to rest of India. National Highway No. 1A passes through Jammu towards Srinagar. Regular bus services from all major North Indian cities are available for Jammu as well as Katra. Many standard and deluxe buses of various State Road Transport Corporations as well as private operators connect Jammu with important cities and towns of North India.