Jwaladevi Temple (ज्वालादेवी मन्दिर) is located in Shaktinagar which is in

Sonbhadra district Sonbhadra or ''Sonebhadra'' is the second largest district by area of Uttar Pradesh after Lakhimpur Kheri. It is the only district in India which borders four states, namely Madhya Pradesh to the west, Chhattishgarh to the south, Jharkhand in t ...

of Uttar Pradesh. The Jwaladevi temple is dedicated to Goddess

Jwala Ji Jwala Ji ( Pahari: जवाला जी, pa, ਜਵਾਲਾ ਜੀ, hi, ज्वाला जी) is a Hindu Goddess. Alternative spellings and names for Jwala Ji include ''Jawala Ji'', ''Jwala Devi'' and ''Jwalamukhi Ji''. The physical m ...

. This is an age old Ashtagrih temple of Jwala Devi & one of the 51 Shaktipeethas of India. The old temple is believed to be 1000 years old. The old temple was constructed by Raja Udit Narayan Singh of Gaharwal village. The new temple has been built replacing the old one. Here the Front tongue of Devi

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

is worshipped. She is venerated as the kuldevi, family goddess, of Katoch Rajputs, Bhatia, Dhadwals and Meisuria people.

History

Mythology Recognize that because of ego Daksha Prajapati was not invited to the ritual Dewadidev

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 ...

by the humiliation of husband

to destroy the ego of the father abandoned her body. This angered Shiva. He originated

Veerbhadra Virbhadra is a town in Dehradun district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, located close to the pilgrimage town of Rishikesh. It is most known as the factory township of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Rishikesh plant (IDPL), a G ...

from his coma and ordered the slaughter of Prajapati Daksha . Prajapati was killed by Veerbhadra. After convincing the gods Shiva the Creator placed the severed head of the goat in place of head on the Prajapati. Jwaladevi Temple is place that is believed to have been blessed with the presence 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 r ...

due to the falling of Front tongue of devi from the corpse of

Devi, when Lord

carried her and wandered throughout Aryavarta in sorrow.

Importance

The Idol of the main deity is located in the Sanctum Sanctorum (central place of the temple). The old black stone idol which was in the old temple has been installed along with other deities surrounding the main idol. It is believed that people offer gold/silver tongue as offerings here after their wishes are fulfilled.

Attractions

The puja of the temple is being regularly performed by the priests whose family has been doing it for last 12 generations. Presently there are 12 priests involved in performing the routine puja at this temple. Jawalamukhi cave is located at a distance of 1 km from the temple. It is said that the cave had three openings earlier but presently the cave is filled with water of a spring and has only a single opening.

How to reach

By road

Accessed by road from Robertsganj via Renukut- Shaktinagar road through SH-5 & NH-75, frequent bus service is available from Robertsganj and Varanasi.

By train

Nearest railway station is Shaktinagar and Jwalamukhi Road which is well connected by rail to all the major cities of India.

By air

* Babatpur Airport,

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

about 176 km. *

Muirpur Airport Muirpur Airport also spelled as Myorpur Airport is an upcoming airport, situated at Muirpur approx 12 km from the Renukut in the Sonbhadra district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Airport is developing by upgrading the existing gov ...

, Myorpur,

Renukut Renukoot is a city and a nagar panchayat in Sonbhadra district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh. Renukoot is 68 km south from the district headquarters Robertsgan Renukoot is an industrial town. It is w ...

about 45 km.

References

* http://www.easternuptourism.com/?p=6862 {{coord missing, Uttar Pradesh Shakti Peethas Tourist attractions in Sonbhadra district Hindu temples in Uttar Pradesh Buildings and structures in Sonbhadra district