The Jhandewalan Temple is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

near

Karol Bagh Karol Bagh is a neighbourhood in Central District of Delhi, India. It is a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood known for shopping streets such as the Ghaffar Market and Ajmal Khan Road. It was home to the Karol Bagh Lok Sabha cons ...

Delhi, India Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

dedicated to the goddess Aadi Shakti. It is among the oldest temple in Delhi and located on Jhandewala road.Jhandewalan temple

History

Etymology

This rocky area was named as ''Jhandewala'' during the 18th century due to the presence of a large Prayer flags.

Discovery of idol

During the 18th century, a famous cloth merchant named Badri Das often walked to the Delhi Ridge of

Aravalli range The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. ...

, which was covered with flora and fauna. While digging near a waterfall, the idol of Jhandewali Mata and a stone

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

with carvings of

nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

were found by him. Das built the temple on the spot. Since the hands of the idol were damaged during excavation, hands of silver were made and the original statue was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

in the cavern basement which came to be called "Maa Gufa Wali" (The Mother Goddess of Cave). A new replica of the idol was installed on the ground floor which came to be called "Maa Jhande Wali" (The Mother Goddess of Flag). Since a large prayer flag was installed by Badri Das, who came to be known as "Bhagat Badri", the place came to be known as "Jhandewala" ("the place of the flag"). Within the temple compound there are subsidiary temples of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

as well as

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

. The temple is run by the

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

''"Badri Bhagat Jhandewalan Mandir Society"''.2002
Organiser
vol 53, Page 158.

Hindu Jat and Muslim riots of 1924

During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, Muslims had built a slaughterhouse close to the temple. In May 1924, on the day of Bakri Eid, the Muslims of Pahari Dhiraj slaughtered a cow - which is revered by the Hindus as sacred - in the slaughterhouse close to the Jhandewala temple. This angered the Hindu

Jats The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

of Sadar Bazaar, which led to riots among the Jats and Muslims between 11 July and 18 July, resulting in loss of life and property.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

repeatedly requested

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

(INC) to stop the Jats, but Gandhi and INC were unable to control the situation. Riots were eventually stopped by the police.BIRESH CHAUDHUR
NATIONALIST MOVEMENT IN DELHI 1911-1932
Page 78.

Religious celebrations

The lower level of the temple is where people perform Puja. The upper level of the temple has the idol of Mata Jhandewali with the idol of

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...

and Kali. There are also idols of other deities on the upper level. The festival of

Navaratri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is ob ...

is held twice a year at the temple. Jhandewalimata's

aarti ''Arti'' (Sanskrit: Ārātrika, Hindi: Ārtī) is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, often part of '' puja'', in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities. ''Arti(s)'' also refers to the songs sung in praise of the d ...

is done 4 times in a day.

References