Hinglaj Mata mandir

Hinglaj Mata (Hindi: हिंगलाज माता, bal, هنگلاج ماتا, ), also known as Hinglaj Devi, Hingula Devi and Nani Mandir, is a Hindu temple in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, and is the middle of the Hingol National Park. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in Shaktism denomination of Hinduism. It is one of the three Shakti Peethas in Pakistan, other two being Shivaharkaray and Sharada Peeth. It is a form of Durga or Devi in a mountain cavern on the banks of the Hingol River. Over the last three decades the place has gained increasing popularity and became a unifying point of reference for Pakistan's many Hindu communities. Hinglaj Yatra is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan. More than 250,000 people take part in the Hinglaj Yathra during the spring.

Etymology

The shrine is in a small natural cave. There is a low mud altar. There is no man-made image of the goddess. A small divine form of Hinglaj Mata is worshipped. The stone is smeared with sindoor (vermilion), which possibly gives the location its Sanskrit name Hingula, which is the root of the present-day name Hinglaj.

Location

The cave temple of Hinglaj Mata is in a narrow gorge in the remote, hilly area of Lyari Tehsil in Balochistan. It is to the northwest, inland from the Arabian Sea and to the west of the mouth of the Indus. It is at the end of a range of Kirthar Mountains, in the Makran desert stretch, on the west bank of Hingol River. The area is under the Hingol National Park.

Other places of worship in and around Hinglaj are Ganesh Deva, Mata Kali, Gurugorakh Nath Dooni, Braham Kudh, Tir Kundh, Gurunanak Kharao, Ramjarokha Bethak, Aneel Kundh On Chorasi Mountain, Chandra Goop, Khaririver and Aghore Pooja.

Significance

Hinglaj Mata is said to be very powerful deity who bestows good to all her devotees. While Hinglaj is her main temple, temples dedicated to her exist in neighbouring Indian states Gujarat and Rajasthan. The shrine is known as Hingula, Hingalaja, Hinglaja, and Hingulata in Hindu scriptures, particularly in Sanskrit. The goddess is known as Hinglaj Mata (the Mother Hinglaj), Hinglaj Devi (the Goddess Hinglaj), Hingula Devi (the red goddess or the Goddess of Hingula) and Kottari or Kotavi.

The chief legend of Hinglaj Mata relates to the creation of the Shakti Peethas. Sati, daughter of ''Prajapati'' Daksha, was married to the god Shiva against his wishes. Daksha organized a great yajna but did not invite Sati and Shiva. Uninvited, Sati reached the yajna-site, where Daksha ignored Sati and vilified Shiva. Unable to withstand this insult, Sati immolated herself activating her chakras, (energy generated through her anger).

Sati died, but her corpse did not burn. Shiva (as Virabhadra) slew Daksha for being responsible for Sati's death and forgave him, resurrecting him. The wild, grief-stricken Shiva wandered the universe with Sati's corpse. Finally, the god Vishnu dismembered the body of Sati into 108 parts, from which 52 fell on earth and others on other planets in the universe which became Shakti Peethas, temple to a form of the Goddess.

Shiva is also worshiped at each Shakti Pitha in the form of Bhairava, the male counterpart or guardian of the presiding goddess of the Pitha. The head of Sati is believed to have fallen at Hinglaj.

In other Scriptures

The ''Kularnava Tantra'' mentions 18 Pithas and mentions Hingula as the third one. In the ''Kubjika Tantra'', Hingula is listed among the 42 Shakta or Siddha Pithas in which Hinglaj is at the fifth place. The ''Pithanirnaya'' or ''Mahapithanirupana'' section from the ''Tantrachudamani'' originally listed 43 names, but names were added over time making it 51 Pithas. It details the ''Pitha-devata'' or ''Devi'' (name of goddess at the Pitha), the ''Kshastradishas'' (Bhairava) and the ''anga-pratyanga'' (limbs including ornaments of Sati). Hingula or Hingulata is the first in list, with the ''anga-pratyanga'' being ''Brahmarandhra'' (a suture in the crown of the head). The Devi is known by several names such as Kottari, Kottavi, Kottarisha, and the Bhairava is Bhimalochana. In the ''Shivasharitha'', Hingula is again the first in a list of 55 Pithas. ''Brahmarandhra'' is the ''anga-pratyanga'', the goddess is called Kottari and the Bhairava is Bhimalochana (located in Koteshwar).

In the non-scripture 16th century Bengali work '' Chandimangal'', Mukundaram lists nine Pithas in the ''Daksha-yajna-bhanga'' section. Hinglaja is the last Pitha described to be the place where Sati's forehead fell.

Another legend is that Devi killed Hingol as he tormented the people. She followed Hingol to the cave, which is currently the Hinglaj Mata shrine. Before he was killed, Hingol requested the goddess to name the place after him, which she granted.

Belief of Brahmakshatriyas

The Brahmakshatriya community and Charan community also known as Gadhvi venerate Hinglaj Mata as their family deity. They believe that when the god Parashurama was persecuting kshatriyas (the warrior caste), some Brahmins (priest caste) provided protection to 12 kshatriyas and disguised them as Brahmins, and they were protected by Hinglaj Mata. Another variation of the tale is that the sage Dadhichi provided protection to Ratnasena, a king ruling in Sind, in his ashram

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