Vaishno Devi
The Legend
The shrine of Vaishno Devi, the Mother Goddess, popularly called as Mata Rani and Sherawali Mata, is one of the pilgrimage destinations that are thronged by millions of Indians throughout the year. The shrine is situated in the foothills of Himalayas in Jammu. It is said that the one who comes to the doorstep of Vaishno Devi, the manifestation of Goddess Shakti never goes empty handed. The legend goes that the goddess assumed the human form to attain her destiny of merging with lord Vishnu. She was born as Vaishnavi, the human form of Shakti, into the house hold of a poor Brahman. As she grew up she gained a lot of knowledge, and even surpassed her teachers. One such saint named Bhairon Nath grew envious of her and decided to kill her. When she was being chased by this demon, the Goddess took to the holy cave as her home after slaying Bhairon Nath. Bhairon Nath was absolved of his sins before dying and the Kind Goddess gave him a dying wish that her devotees would pay a dedicated visit to his temple as well and then only their Yatra will be fruitful. If you make Vaishno Devi trip bookings from a popular travel agent or a website then they also provide you with a guide or a ‘Piththoo’ who explains you the legend during the Yatra.
The Yatra
The auspicious Yatra to Vaishno Devi cave starts from Katra which is 50 km from Jammu. Katra is a small town equipped with all the modern day facilities and numerous hotels. The entire katra town is completely vegetarian and even onions are not used while cooking food. There are star rated hotels as well Dharamshalas to accommodate the deities. Apart from booking tours you can also avail Vaishno Devi Hotel packages which include your stay along with some complimentary services such as pick and drop and arrangement of the Vaishno Devi ticket Booking or the Yatra Parchi. To enter the cave one needs to have a Yatra Parchi that is cut at katra itself. The trek to the shrine is 13.5 km till the holy shrine. During the Yatra one comes across Ban Ganga which is a water stream, believed to have come up after Lord Hanuman struck an arrow (‘Ban’) in the ground. Midway on your trek you will find Adhkuwari, the cave where the goddess is believed to have spent nine months while on her way to the mountains. Inside main shrine, goddess rests in the form of a rock with 3 pindis (heads), Mahalaxmi, Mahasaraswati and Mahakali, Who all combine into a single power, Shakti.
Facilities
Over the years efforts have been made by the shrine board to make the Yatra comfortable and convenient for everyone. You can take the Yatra on horse back or on Palaki as well. Recently helicopter services have also started from Katra till the Bhawan so if you are a patient or someone with dearth of time then you can take the helicopter services that take exactly 4 min to reach the Bhawan from katra. Tickets for the helicopter can be arranged as a part of Vaishno Devi hotel packages itself. The shrine board has set up a number of standardized counters for Vaishno Devi ticket bookings or Yatra slips. There are a number of fast food joints as well as traditional vegetarian Dhabas in katra as well as on the way to the shrine. When you make Vaishno Devi trip bookings they usually take care of your taste of food and arrange for it accordingly.
Trip packages and bookings
Vaishno Devi trip bookings can be made through various websites as well as travel agents. These tour organizers often combine the trip with other pilgrimage places like Amarnath and Badrinath or with some tourist destinations such as Patnitop. You can also avail the Vaishno Devi Hotel packages offered by a number of hotels in katra which range from star hotels to cheap hotels.
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