Maya 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 ...

: माया 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 Maya 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 ...

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 State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is believed that the heart and navel of goddess Sati fell in the region where the temple stands today and thus it is sometimes referred to as a

Shakta pitha The Shakta pithas, also called Shakti pithas or Sati pithas (, , ''seats of Shakti''), are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of A ...

. Goddess Maya is the Adhisthatri deity of Haridwar. She is a three-headed and four-armed deity who is believed to be an incarnation 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 ...

. Haridwar was previously known as ''Mayapuri'' in reverence to this deity. The temple is a ''siddha pitha'' which are the places of worship where desires get fulfilled. It is one of three such Pithas located in Haridwar, the other two being Chandi Devi Temple and Mansa Devi Temple.

Description

The temple dates back to the eleventh century. It is one of the three ancient temples of Haridwar which are still intact, the other two being Narayana-shila and Bhairava Temple. The inner shrine consists of

murti In the Hinduism, Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a Hindu deities, deity or Hindu saints, saint used during ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing d ...

s (icons) of goddesses Maya in the centre,

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

on the left,

Kamakhya Kamakhya (), a mother goddess, is a Shakta Tantric deity; considered to be the embodiment of '' Kama (desire)'', she is regarded as the goddess of desire. Her abodeKamakhya Temple is located in the Kamarupa region of Assam, India."Seated on ...

on the right. There are also two other goddesses who are also forms of Shakti, present in the inner shrine. The temple is located to the east of

Har ki Pauri Har Ki Pauri, meaning the feet of Vishnu, Lord Vishnu (Hari), is a Ghats#River ghats, ghat on the banks of the river Ganga and landmark of the Hindu holy city of Haridwar in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is believed that it is the precis ...

and is easily accessible by buses and auto rickshaws. It is regarded as a must visit for devotees going to Haridwar. The temple is visited by many devotees from various parts of the country especially during the

Navratra Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again i ...

and the Kumbha Mela in Haridwar. Maya Devi inner shrine

References

{{Hindu temples in Uttarakhand Shakti temples Hindu temples in Uttarakhand Buildings and structures in Haridwar