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

Sonbhadra district Sonbhadra (also known as Sonebhadra) or Sonanchal is the second largest district by area of Uttar Pradesh after Lakhimpur Kheri. The district headquarters is in the town of Robertsganj. Sonbhadra is also known as the "Energy Capital of India" f ...

of Uttar Pradesh. The Jwaladevi temple is dedicated to Goddess

Jwala Ji Jwala ( Pahari: जवाला जी, , ) is a Hindu goddess. The physical manifestation of Jwala is typically a set of eternal flames. The Hindu temple Jwala/jawala(flame) or Jwala Mukhi (a person with a face glowing like fire) is mentioned ...

. This is an age old Ashtagrih temple of Jwala Devi & one of the 51

Shakta pithas 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 ...

of India. The old temple is believed to be 1000 years old. The old temple was constructed by Raj
Udit Narayan Singh
of

singrauli Singrauli is a city in Singrauli district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and Commissionaire of Rewa. It lies about from the district headquarters of Waidhan. History Previously it was a part of Singrauli State which was ruled by the ...

Gaharwal village. The new temple has been built replacing the old one. Here the Front tongue of Devi Sati is worshipped. She is venerated as the kuldevi, family goddess, of

Katoch Katoch is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan. Their areas of residence are mainly in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, and the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Traditionally resided in Kangra Fort, Trigarta King ...

Rajputs, Bhatia, Dhadwals and Meisuria people.

History

Mythology recognizes that because of ego,

Daksha Daksha ( ,) is a Hindu god whose role underwent a significant transformation from Vedic mythology, ''Vedic'' to Itihasa-Purana, ''Itihasa-Puranic'' mythology. In the ''Rigveda'', Daksha is an ''Adityas, aditya'' and is associated with priestly ...

Prajapati did not invite, to the ritual the Lord of lords

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

and humiliated him, husband of Sati. To destroy the ego of the father, she consciously left her physical body. This angered Shiva. He originated Veerbhadra 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 a place that is believed to have been blessed with the presence 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 ...

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

References

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