Bhutandevi Mandir () 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
Bhutandevi (
Hidimbi
Hiḍimbī, also known as Hiḍimbā (Sanskrit: ), is a character in the ''Mahabharata'', one of the two great Sanskrit epics of ancient India. She is introduced as a man-eating Rakshasi (demoness) and the sister of Hidimba, a powerful demon w ...
), located in
Hetauda city of
Bagmati Province
Bagmati Province (, ''Bāgmatī pradēśa'') is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. Bagmati is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. It is bordered ...
,
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. Hidimba is one of the wives of
Bhima
Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...
(one of the
Pandavas
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...
) and the
mother
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...
of
Ghatotkacha
Ghatotkacha (, ; ) is a character in the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. His name comes from the fact that he was bald (''utkacha'') and shaped like a ghatam, or a pot. He is the son of the Pandava Bhima and the demoness Hidimbi.
As th ...
, a hero of
Kurukshetra War
The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu Indian epic poetry, epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the thr ...
. Bhutandevi is also considered to be another form of goddess
Durga
Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...
. The city of Hetauda itself is believed to be named after the goddess Hidimba.
Gallery
File:Bhutandevi Mandir.jpg, Idol of the goddess in the temple
File:Shiva Linga in Bhutandevi Temple.jpg, Shiva linga in the temple premises
See also
*
Gadhimai
*
Kushmanda Sarowar Triveni Dham
References
Hindu temples in Hetauda
Makwanpur District
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