Brijeshwari Temple Kangra, a legendary temple

In the old Kangra is located the Kangra temples of Brijeshwari in Dharamshala. These are the famous temples in Himachal Pradesh which are said to have been made out of Sati’s charred breasts. Shree Nagarkot Devi Mandir like most temples in Himachal is dedicated to a Mother Goddess.

This is located in Nagarkot in Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. It is eleven kilometers away from the Kangra railway station. We reached the location and found the Kangra Fort to be located nearby. This is also located near the Chamunda Devi Temple.

The main deity of this temple, as in most of the other temples in Himachal Pradesh is Brijeshwari Devi who is also known as Vajrayogini or Vajrabhai. She is also the incarnation of Parvati, the Goddess or Aadi Maya on the Earth.

The name means Vajra or the thunderbolt. There are two stories of the Goddess origin also associated with Vajra. Legend has to say like many other stories associated with other temples in Himachal that the Devas and Indra Dev went to Goddess Parvati to ask for help in slaying Kalikala demon. Parvati promised to help them in the right time.

Goddess Sati according to another legend associated with the temples of Himachal also sacrificed herself and Shiva created Tandav throughout the universe. To stop that Lord Vishnu divided the body of Sati in 52 parts and the right breast fell here where the Brijeshwari temple is built thus promoting the place into a Shakti Peeth.

According to the legends, the original temple was built by the Pandavas during the days of Mahabharata. The legends for the temples of Himachal go this way. The Pandavas dreamt of Devi Parvati and brought her there from the village of Nagarkot.

The temple was looted by the Muslims. Inside the temple the Goddess image is present. The temple also has a small temple of Bhairav and an idol of someone called Dhayanu Bhagat. He had offered his head to the Goddess in the times of Akbar the Great. This like the legends of many of the temples in Himachal runs all through. The present temple has three tombs which are unique in themselves.