Image Credits : pavankunar
Surkanda Devi is a temple of Goddess Surkanda situated near Dhanaulti in Tehri Garhwal. It is located at an altitude of 2756 meters and is at a distance of about 33.9 km and 113 km from The Mall Rd Mussoorie and Devaprayag respectively. It has been built on the Surkut mountain.
Being situated in Uttarakhand, the place is surrounded by dense forests along with the mesmerizing view of the surroundings including Himalayas to the north and certain cities to the south. The place not only attracts a large number of people due to its spirituality but also for its beauty. Every year the time duration between May and June attracts numerous people because of the Ganga Dusshera Festival celebration at the temple. Each of Durga’s ten forms is worshiped on different days during Dusshera. It is on the ninth day i.e. on the day of Siddhidatri (the ninth form of Durga) that the Goddess awards meditative abilities to her followers.
Being situated at a great height, one can see the beautiful view of the mountains of the Char Dham (i.e. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri) from this place. Also, Chandrabadani Mandir, Tungnath, Chaukhamba, Gaurishankar, Neelkanth etc. are visible from this place.
The devotees are given leaves of raunslee as Prasad, which are considered to have a number of medical benefits. It is also believed that these leaves bring happiness and prosperity.
If you are a trek lover along with a spiritual soul then you should surely visit this place. People visiting the place can drive up to Kaddu Khal (Devasthali) from where they have to walk for 2 km to reach the temple. The beauty of the place along with the desire to see and worship Goddess Surkanda doesn’t allow the visitors to have a feeling of tiredness even after a long journey till Kaddu Khal and a trek of about 2km.
The shops outside the temple are full of Prasad which includes coconuts, puffed rice, sugar lumps and other tokens signifying the gratefulness of the devotees towards the Goddess.
The main temple has an Idol of Parvati. People can enter the temple after the drums signal the opening of the temple. The devotees worship there and leave the offerings at the feet of the deity.
The place has several small temples with Idols of different Gods. The one is Shiv-Parvati temple; the other one has an Idol of Ganesh; an Idol of Vishnu playing flute inconspicuously for grieving Shiva is also present there; a deity of Hanuman is also present at the place.
Daksha, the father of Sati, who had married Lord Shiva, performed a yagna for all the deities. However, he did not like Shiva very much and therefore he didn’t invite Shiva and Sati for the ceremony. Disappointed with her father’s behavior Sati reached the spot and set herself onto the fire of yagna. As she knew doing so would ruin the purity of the yagna.
Coming to know about Sati’s death, Shiva was not only deeply grieved but also angry. He took the corpse of Sati, put it on his shoulder and vowed to do Tandav until the body of Sati rots away completely.
Who on this earth doesn’t know about the anger of Lord Shiva. If he would have continued the Tandav for long, it would have been catastrophic for all beings. All other Gods knowing his rage became fearful and asked Lord Vishnu to calm down his anger. Lord Vishnu sent his Sudarshana Chakra to destroy Sati’s corpse. The Chakra cut her body into pieces. The pieces of Sati’s body fell down at various places while Shiva continued doing Tandav until he had nothing left on his shoulders to carry. After that Lord Shiva sat down to do severe penance, the Mahatapasya.
The various places where the pieces of Sati’s body fell down are known as Shakti Peeths and are fifty-one in number. The place where Sati’s head fell off, while Shiva was going back to Kailash, that particular place is known as the modern temple of Surkanda.
Surkanda Devi is known to fulfill the wishes of people and whatever you ask will come true at this place. People of nearby villages often visit the temple asking for rain especially during drought. Every three years at the behinning of Navratras, a palanquin of the Devi is carried to Jadadhar village that is considered the place of her birth. The coming of Devi brings the much needed rains.
The Devi always blesses her devotees by granting their wishes. Once, it happened that after defeating the Devatas, the demons captured the heaven. After which all other Gods including Indra worshiped at this place, in desire to get their heaven back. Their wish came true; they defeated the demons and got the hegemony of heaven again.
One can find the deepest and purest form of peace when he finds himself near to God. Surkanda Devi gives you an experience of this great calmness within yourself.
