Mansa Devi Temple, Haridwar (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: मंसा देवी मंदिर, हरिद्वार) 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 ...

dedicated to goddess

Mansa Devi Manasa () is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is worshipped mainly in Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar b ...

in the holy city of

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the righ ...

in the

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

state of India. The temple is located atop the Bilwa Parvat on the

Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indi ...

, the southernmost mountain chain of the

Himalayas 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 temple, also known as Bilwa Tirth is one of the ''Panch Tirth'' (Five Pilgrimages) within Haridwar. The temple is known for being the holy abode of

, a form of

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 ...

and is said to have emerged from the mind of the

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 ...

. Mansa is regarded as the sister of the

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. ...

(serpent)

Vasuki Vasuki (IAST: ) is the second king of the nagas in Hinduism. He is described as having a gem called ''Nagamani'' (serpent's ornament) on his head. Adishesha, the first king of the serpents and the mount of Narayana, is his elder brother, and ...

. She is also believed to be the daughter of Lord Shiva in his human incarnate. The term ''Mansa'' means wish and it is believed that the goddess fulfils all the wishes of a sincere devotee. There is a folk tale about this, once Mansa, a common girl who was unaware about her complete truth from her guardians decided to meet Lord Shiva and ask him about her truth. To meet Lord Shiva, she sat for Sadhana and after years of spiritual exercise, she got the fortune to meet Lord Shiva and clarify her truth from him. After learning her truth, she attained the powers of goddess of welfare for the world. Devotees who pray to Mansa Devi for fulfilling their wishes tie threads to the branches of a tree located in the temple. Once their wishes are fulfilled, people come back again to the temple to untie the thread from the tree. Goddess Mansa is also offered coconuts, fruits, garlands and incense sticks for prayer. Mansa Devi Temple is a ''Siddh Peeth'' (These are known to fulfill the desires of the worshippers). It is one of three such Peeths located in Haridwar, the other two being Chandi Devi Temple and Maya Devi Temple. The inner shrine has two deities, one with eight arms and the other one with three heads and five arms.

The Temple

Cable car to Mansa Devi Temple, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India

Mansa Devi Temple is considered as a must visit for the pilgrims going to Haridwar. It enhances the holy tradition of Haridwar which persists in the place from many past centuries. It offers views of the

River Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and the plains of

. To reach the shrine one has to either follow the trekking route up to this holy shrine or ride on rope-way service. The rope-way service known as "Mansa Devi Udankhatola" was introduced for the benefit of the pilgrims and it is also used for transporting pilgrims to the nearly located Chandi Devi Temple. The rope-way carries the pilgrims from the lower station directly to the Mansa Devi Temple. The total length of the rope-way is and the height it covers is . On a normal day, the temple is open between 5 am and 9 pm, except for lunch closings of 12 pm to 2 pm. It is said that Devi Mansa and

Chandi Chandi ( sa, चण्डी, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is another form of Mahadevi, similar to Durga. Chandika is a powerful form of Mahadevi who manifested to destroy evil. She is also known as ''Kaushiki'', '' Katyayan ...

, the two forms of goddess

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

always reside close to each other. This belief can also be found true in other case since near to the

Mata Mansa Devi Mandir Mata Mansa Devi is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti, in the Panchkula district of the Indian state of Haryana. The temple complex is spread of of the Shivalik foothills in the village of Bilaspur, near Sect ...

Panchkula Panchkula (PKL) is a planned city and district headquarter in the Panchkula district, part of the Ambala division in Haryana, India. The origin of the name Panchkula came from the place where five irrigation canals meet. Panchkula established ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

, there is a Chandi Mandir located nearby in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

. Mansa Devi Temple is a popular temple of Goddess Mansa Devi located at Bilwa Parvat near Haridwar. Located from Haridwar and is connected with a pedestrian path. Mansa Devi Mandir is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Other Mansa Devi temples

Maa Mansa Devi Mandir Maa or MAA may refer to: People * MAA (singer), Japanese pop singer, previously known as Mar from the band Marbell * Maa Afia Konadu (1950–2019), Ghanaian media personality Organizations * Mathematical Association of America, a professional ...

, Bandha Bazar, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh *

, Panchkula, Haryana * Mansa Bari,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

* Mansa Devi Temple, Alwar, Rajasthan * Mansa Devi Temple,

Dhuri, Punjab Dhuri is a city in Sangrur District in the state of Punjab, India. The neighbouring towns of Dhuri are Sangrur, Malerkotla, Nabha, and Barnala. Demographics As of 2011 Indian Census, Dhuri city had a total population of 55,225 of which 29,231 w ...

* Shri Mansa Mata Mandir Hasampur, Sikar, Rajasthan * Mansa Devi Temple, Narela, Delhi * Mansa Devi Temple, Sitamarhi, Bihar *

, Tomargarh (Khutailapatti), Mathura, Uttar Pradesh *

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

* Mansa Devi Temple, Mukkamala, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Naidupeta, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Tilaru, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Dornipadu, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Kanumalapalle, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Chinadugam,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

* Mansa Devi Temple,

Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema".Kurnool is also known as The City of Gem Stones. It also se ...

* Mansa Devi Temple, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Thurpu Rompidodla, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple,

Eluru, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh Eluru is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the 14 municipal corporations in the state and the mandal headquarters of Eluru mandal in the Eluru revenue division. The city ...

* Mansa Devi Temple,

Behror in the Alwar district in the state of Rajasthan. Behror () is a city in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Behror Tehsil. Situated 120 km south-west of national capital, New Delhi, and part of the National Capital Region (India ...

References

External links

Wikimapia - Mansa Devi Mandir, HaridwarMansa Devi Temple, Haridwar
{{Hindu temples in Uttarakhand Shakti temples Hindu temples in Uttarakhand Aerial tramways in India Buildings and structures in Haridwar