One of the 51 Shaktipeeths of Maa Bhagwati, the Jwalamukhi temple is very famous and revered.The temple has earned a sobriquet of Jota Wali Mandir, for which you will know the reason in this article. According to mythological beliefs, the tongue of Mother Sati had fallen at this place.Here Mata is seated in the form of Jwala and Lord Shiva is situated here in the form of Unmat Bhairav. The special thing about this temple is that there is no idol here, but nine flames coming out of the earth are worshipped.
Till date, the cause behind this eternal flame is inscrutable. Many geologists, even after digging several km, could not find out from where this natural gas was coming out. Also, till date, no one has been able to extinguish this flame. Today, in this article we will know about the eternal flame of this temple and related stories about this temple.
Temple of 9 flames
In the Jwala Devi temple, nine flames have been burning for years without any fuel.These 9 flames symbolize the nine forms of the mother goddess. The biggest flame of this temple is worshipped as Jwala Mata and the other eight flames are Maa Annapurna, Maa Vidhyavasini, Maa Chandi Devi, Maa Mahalakshmi, Maa Hinglaj, Maa Saraswati, Maa Ambika Devi and Maa Anji Devi.
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Britishers’ attempt to know the source of flame
The temple of Jwala Devi was first constructed by Raja Bhumi Chand. After this, it was rebuilt in 1835 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Raja Sansar Chand. During the British Empire, a lot of effort was made to find the energy buried under the ground to know the source of the flame of the temple, but they could not find anything.
Attempts after independence
Even after independence, many geologists had also dug deep for days to find out the source of the flame, but they too did not get any information. These things prove that it is a miraculous flame. The mystery of the flame emanating from the temple remains even today.
In folklores
There is also a legend related to Jwala Devi’s flame. According to the legend, Gorakhnath was a great devotee of MaaJwala Devi and was always absorbed in devotion. Once when he felt hungry, Gorakhnathasked the goddessJwala Devi to keep the water warm, till then hecomesback, but he did not come back. It is believed that this is the same flame that was lit by the mother and steam appears to be coming out of the water of the pool built at a distance. This pool is also called GorakhnathkiDibbi. It is believed that at the end of Kali Yuga, Gorakhnath will return to the temple and till then the flame will continue to burn.
Futile efforts by Akbar
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When Emperor Akbar heard about the flame of the temple, he called his army and tried many times to extinguish this flame, but no one could extinguish the flames of the temple. Then he tried to redirect a canal towards the flame but was unsuccessful. The canal will be seen on the left side of the temple. After seeing this miracle of the goddess, he bowed down and reached to offer a golden chatra. However, the mother goddess did not accept his offering and the golden umbrella fell and turned into some other metal. No one has come to know what this metal is till today.
Story of Dhyanu Bhagat
The story of Dhyanu Bhagat about the temple of JwalaDevi is also very popular. According to the legend, Dhyanu Bhagat offered his head to the mother to prove his devotion. It is believed that whatever the devotee asks from the mother with a sincere heart, his every wish is fulfilled.