Bambar Baini is the regional incarnation of the Devi (Mother Goddess) closely identified with

Amba Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...

:Lala Ramcharan Lal. ''Ram Ram Bhaj Lev'' Neeraj Prakashan, Chhatarpur p. 58-59 Her name means "powerful goddess of shakti riding the lion," and she resides on a hill located at town of Laundi Hindu temple of Sri Devi Bambar Baini ji is located on top of the hill around 1 km from the heart of the town of Laundi. Laundi is situated in Chhatarpur district of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

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 ...

. Devotees and visitors reach to the temple after climbing approximately 450 steps to the top of the hill. Thousands of devotees throng the temple all round the year. It is estimated that this place of worship may be in existence from 17-18th century. In front of the temple, a picturesque pond can be seen down the hill. It is an important religious place of the

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

. The Bambar Baini temple itself is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the local area, attracting thousands of visitors each year, particularly for Navaratri Mela in April and October every year, which are the days of annual fasting by Hindus.

Transport

The nearest civil airport is

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous ...

Mahoba Mahoba is a city in Mahoba District of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the Bundelkhand region, well known for the ninth century granite Sun temple built in Pratihara style. It is also well known for the 24 rock-cut Jain tirthankara imag ...

and

Harpalpur Harpalpur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chhatarpur District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Before the inauguration of Khajuraho railway station, Harpalpur was the only railway station in Chhatarpur district. The municipality bo ...

Railway Stations are located nearby, linking it to some major towns and cities of India.

Origins

One of the most persistent mythologies, concerning the origin of worship at the site, is associated with the dream that was experienced by a local priest. It is said that the devi came to priest in his dream and told him about her whereabouts on the top of the hill. Next morning, when the priest and some other senior responsible citizens of Laundi went up the hill braving their life, they found the inscription of devi in a small hole on a big rock covering a large cave. Those days the hill was full of wild animals like lions, tigers etc. Therefore, locals believe that the devi was duly named as 'Babbar Vahini' i.e. riding the lion, which later with the passage of time became 'Bambar baini'. The people of the town then decided to build a temple on the rock itself. The long staircase came up later, and work for improvement in temple and the access still continues till date.

Iconography

Bambar Baini is inscribed in a hole on a big rock as a young petite goddess. She is ornately dressed, typically wearing a sari and opulent jewelry. It is difficult to take photographs of original inscription because of inadequate light in the hole in the rock.

Transport

Origins

Iconography

References

Further reading