Naina Devi temple is located on a hilltop in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. One can enjoy riding to the top of the temple via road as there are many curves and then one needs to move by concrete steps. There is also a cable wire facility. During the period of Shravan Ashtami, Chaitra, Ashwini and in the Navratras thousands of devotees from nearby places throng to the place. Meaning of the name Naina in Sanskrit is eyes.
Legend:
There are three famous legends related to the origin of the temple.
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- According to the mythology Daksha yagna and Sati self-immolation, it is the holy place where “Eyes” fell down.
- Another story is regarding a Gujjar boy Naina who noticed one of his white cows showering milk on a stone from many days. Once the goddess came to Naina’s dream and said she originated at a spot where the cow was showering milk as a pindi form. He narrated what he saw in a dream to his King Raja Bir Chand. He was surprised to see the incident and built a temple with the child name Naina Devi temple.
- In another context, Naina Devi is also called with the name Mahishapeeth. Once there was a demon named Mahishasur who was very powerful by the boon of immortality with a clause of getting death by women who is not married by Lord Brahma. With this boon, a demon started creating terror in all worlds and troubled gods. In order to kill this demon, all gods combined and created goddess and gifted their powers and weapons to kill the demon. When Mahishasur saw goddess he was mesmerized by the beauty of the goddess and offered to marry him then goddess accepted his offer on a condition that he should defeat the goddess in a battle. In a battled goddess not only defeated Mahishasur but also removed his eyes, all gods felt happy and applauded goddess with the slogan “Jai Naina”.
Transport:
Road: Frequent buses float from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, Taxis can also be hired.
Rail: Anandpur Sahib is the nearest railway station which is at a distance of 30 kms.
Air: The nearest airport is at Chandigarh which is about 100 kms. from Naina Devi temple.
