~ By CL Gadoo ~
Dhari Devi a Hindu temple located on the banks of the Alaknanda River between Srinagar and Rudraprayag in the Garhwal Region of Uttarakhand. The temple is situated on Rudarprayag road about 17kms from Srinagar in Kalyasaur village. The temple dedicated to Goddess Kali is a much worshiped Goddess of the region. The temple is visited by many pilgrims from many parts of the country to worship the great Goddess.The Dhari Devi temple is about 3000 years old. The manifestation of Goddess Kali, Dhari Devi is revered as the guardian deity of Uttarakhand and is revered as the protector of the Char Dhams. Another interesting fact about this Mandir is that the idol of the presiding deity holds some secrets since her face changes thrice a day. Local devotees are of the opinion that the stone carved deity changes face of a girl, woman, and of old lady as the day progresses.
LEGEND:
According to a legend, the upper half of the idol of the Goddess Dhari is worshipped here, while the lower half of the idol is located in Kalimath, where she is worshipped as a manifestation of the Goddess Kali. The upper part of the Devi with the head symbolizes the quieting of Kali by Shiva, the Guru. The lower portion of Kali is not as a symbol and rather, is worshiped as the Sri Yantra. The Sri Yantra, as built up by Adi Shankara at Kalimath, is the yoni of Shakti from which all creation continues.Her shrine is one of 108 Shakti Sthals in India, as numbered by Srimad Devi Bhagwat. It is believed, that once a severe flood in the Alaknanda River washed away the temple and the idol was trapped against a rock near the village Dharo. Villagers heard the wail of the idol and a divine voice directed them to install the idol there. After this incident, the temple is known as Dhari Devi temple. Legend says the idol shall not be put under any roof, so there is always open sky above the idols in the Dara Devi temple. 15th June 2013 has become an important day in the history of the temple. On this day the idol of Maa Dhari Devi was removed from the original location. It was shifted to
another location to facilitate the construction of a dam. Many residents of the state and locals were opposing the construction of this dam since the inception of the project. The devotees of the Goddess have the belief that the moving of the temple would somehow agitate Kali it would not be good for the region. And the ugly truth is, exactly on the next day of this incident a massive cloudburst and flash flood started in Uttarakhand. As per believers, Uttarakhand had to face the Goddess ire as she was shifted from her ‘moolsthan’ (original abode) to make way for a 330 MW hydel project that lies in ruins after the flood.
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, dated 27th June 2013, reports; “Was the Uttarakhand tragedy really the fury of a Goddess who was forced to relocate? The locals seem to think so. Dhari Devi near Srinagar, Uttarakhand, is considered to be the protector of Char Dhams. The temple of this Hindu Deity, believed to be yet another manifestation of Kali, is located on the banks of river Alaknanda, 19km.from Srinagar. But on June 16, hours before the flash floods hit the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, the temple of Dhari Devi was shifted further uphill to prevent it from being submerged by the waters of the 300 MW hydel power projects being built by the Alaknanda Hydel Project Company, a subsidiary of GVK power. The idol, which rested on a small hill, was cut from its base. For years, the locals had been protesting the relocation of the temple but the state government was adamant about the shift.” There has been unprecedented loss of life and property on 16th and 17th June 2013, due to cloudburst in Kidarnath and flash floods across Uttarakhand. A similar attempt in 1882 by a local king had resulted in a landslide that had flattened Kedarnath. Every year on the occasion of Navratras special worship is offered to Goddess Kaliasaur. People from far & near visit this sacred place to get the blessings of Goddess Kali. An ancient cave is also present near the temple.
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