Mansa Devi Temple, Haridwar (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: मंसा देवी मंदिर, हरिद्वार) is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

dedicated to goddess Mansa Devi in the holy city of

Haridwar Haridwar (; ; formerly Mayapuri) 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 s ...

in the

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

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

Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas. The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Pale ...

, 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 Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

. 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 Mansa Devi, a form of

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

and is said to have emerged from the mind of the

Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...

. Mansa is regarded as the sister of the

Nāga In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () 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 () is the king of the nagas in Hinduism. He is described as having a gem called '' Nagamani'' (serpent's ornament) on his head. Shesha, another king of the nagas and the bed on which Vishnu rests, is his elder brother, and Manasa, a ...

. 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

To reach the shrine pilgrims either go on foot or ride a rope-way service. The rope-way service known as "Mansa Devi Udankhatola" 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 .

Other Mansa Devi temples

* Maa Mansa Devi Mandir, Bandha Bazar, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh *

Mata Mansa Devi Mandir Mata Mansa Devi is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Manasa, Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti, in the Panchkula district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Haryana. The temple complex is spread of of the Siwalik Hills, Shi ...

, Panchkula, Haryana * Mansa Bari,

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

* Mansa Devi Temple, Alwar, Rajasthan * Mansa Devi Temple, Dhuri, Punjab * Shri Mansa Mata Mandir Hasampur, Sikar, Rajasthan * Mansa Devi Temple, Narela, Delhi * Mansa Devi Temple, Sitamarhi, Bihar * Maa Mansa Devi Mandir, Tomargarh (Khutailapatti),

Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

* Maa Mansa Devi Mandir,

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

* 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 (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

* Mansa Devi Temple, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Thurpu Rompidodla, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Eluru, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh * Mansa Devi Temple, Behror in the Alwar district in the state of Rajasthan. * Manasa Devi Temple, Clock Tower, Secunderabad.

References

External links

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