The Julfa Mata 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 ...

in the town of

Nangal Nangal is a town, near city of Rupnagar in Rupnagar district in Punjab, India. It sits at the foot of the Shiwalik Hills where it was established after plans for a dam required the movement of previously established villages. Residential areas ...

Rupnagar district Rupnagar district is one of twenty-two districts in the state of Punjab, India. The city of Rupnagar is said to have been founded by a Raja called Rokeshar, who ruled during the 11th century and named it after his son Rup Sen. It is also the ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, in northern India. According to the story, there were

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

s who harassed

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

over the

Himalayan Mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. The gods decided to destroy them. Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

was leading them. The Gods focused their strengths in a huge flame which rose from the earth. Out of the fire a girl took birth and regarded as Adishakti (means first

shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...

). She grew up in the house of Prajapati Daksha. She used to be called as

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

. Later she became wife of Lord

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 ...

. Once, Prajapati

Daksha In Hinduism, Daksha (Sanskrit: दक्ष, IAST: , lit. "able, dexterous, or honest one") is one of the '' Prajapati'', the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a ha ...

insulted Lord Shiva. Sati was unable to accept this and she killed herself. When Lord Shiva learned of his wife's death, there were no boundaries of his extreme anger. He began stalking the three worlds while holding Sati's body. The other Gods approached Lord Vishnu for help as they were afraid of Lord Shiva's rage. Lord Vishnu using his

Chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

which severed Sati’s body into fifty-one pieces. Wherever the pieces fell, the fifty-one sacred

Shaktipeeth The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various for ...

s came into existence. It is believed that at Julfa Mata temple, Sati's hair fell. The word 'julfa' means hair. Many devotees visit the temple. The temple is on the hills by the Nangal – Hambewal road. The temple is around five kilometers away from the

township. In early days people walked to the temple, but now there is a road. Near the entrance of the temple, on the right hand side, there is a Shiva temple. There is a Peepal (Bo or Sacred Ficus) tree and devotees tie threads to that. The thread is known as moli. There is a belief that deity fulfills all the wishes of devotees. Inside temple there is idol of Mata. There is a priest who takes care of temple. Devotees usually bring offerings for the

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

. The offerings includes sweets (Suji halwa, laddu, barfi), kheel (sugar-coated puffed rice), narial (coconut) and flowers. In navarats and saavan days, the temple gets decorated with lights, etc.

External links

Facebook page of Temple

References

{{coord missing, Punjab (India) Hindu temples in Punjab, India Rupnagar