Anusuya Devi temple is dedicated to Goddess Anusuya (Sati) who was the wife of Sage Atri Muni. She was completely devoted to her husband, Atri Muni who was one of the Saptarishis. Located in Gopeshwar of Chamoli district in Garhwal, the temple lies in the lap of Himalayas at 2000 m above the sea-level. It was established by Jagatguru Shankaracharya Ji.
Anusuya Devi is one of the most visited pilgrim sites in Chamoli, especially among Kedarnath travelers. 30 kms from Chopta, it is on the way to Kedar Rudranath. To reach the temple the devotees have to trek for 5 km from Mandal village.
The trek which begins at a bridge over a hilly stream is surrounded by thick forests. It is quite steep but at the same time gives one a beautiful sensation of being near the nature. The chirping sounds of various birds along with the fragrance of beautiful flowers give a soothing relief. Being at a great height the weather is quite cold there.
There is a small village built around the temple. The temple has been built in Nagara Style ( the temple generally stands on a high platform (jagati) made of stone bricks, with several moldings). During the month of December a large fair is organized on the occasion of Duttatreya Jayanti that attracts devotees in large numbers. The devotees worship the Goddess singing Bhajans for the whole night with lighted lamps in their hands.
At the entrance of the temple, there is a gigantic statue of Lord Ganesha. It has formed naturally from a rock. The great idol of Devi Anusuya is present in the temple along with a silver umbrella placed above it.
In the courtyard the deities of Lord Shiva, Devi Parvati and their son, Lord Ganesha can be seen. Along with them an idol of Duttatreya (the son of Sati) is also present there.
A visit to the temple fulfills the wish of childless couples for a child by the blessings of Anusuya Devi.
Devi Anusuya was so resolute in her devotion to her husband Atri Muni, that it was praised in all the three loks.
Once Narad Muni was praising her in his hymns and verses that was heard by Goddess Parvati, Goddess Laxmi and Goddess Saraswati. It made them very jealous. They asked their husbands Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma to testify the purity and devotion of Devi Anusuya towards her husband.
Being forced by their wife’s, the three Lords went to Anusuya Devi (when Atri Muni was not there) in disguise of Sage asking for some food to feed themselves. While asking for the food the Lords put a condition before Devi that she should serve them food in private and while doing so she should take off her clothes. On hearing the condition Anusuya Devi was in deep anxiety thinking of a way to feed the Sages but how could she fulfill their condition. At last she closed her eyes thinking about her husband when she had an intuition that the three sages were the three Lords in disguise.
Finally she agreed to their condition, but only if they became infants and took the form of her sons. The Lords agreed and she served them with food. After this, they continued to live there as Anusuya’s sons. When the Lords didn’t return to Devlok for long, their wife’s came to Anusuya Devi to apologize to her and asked her to bring back the Lords in their original form. Devi brought back the Lords to their original form.
Devi Anusuya is known to be the mother of Lord Vishnu as Lord Duttatreya, Lord Brahma as Moon and Lord Shiva as Durvasa. She was chosen because of her great deeds and that of her husband.
There was a Brahmin named Kaushika who was married to Sumanthi. The lady was completely dedicated to her husband but it was not so from the Brahmin’s end. He frequently used to visit a prostitute. With the passage of time he got infected with leprosy and the prostitute stopped seeing him. Sumanthi being a devoted wife was taking good care of him. Kaushika still longed for the affection of that prostitute. One day he asked his wife to take him to her. In urge to fulfill his wish Sumanthi carried him on her back from one place to other. On their way there was a dense forest where Sage Mandavya who had been impaled as a criminal was lying on a spike and Kaushika’s foot happen to touch the Sage. The angry Sage cursed Kaushik to death before the next sunrise. To stop the curse Sumanthi stopped the sunrise. This created havoc in heaven. The other Gods requested Anusuya Devi to convince Sumanthi to allow the sun to rise. Devi not only convinced her but also brought Kaushika back to life after the course of the curse was over. Bhrama was very happy with Devi and then was born to her as Chandraatri.
When Rahu masked the Sun, the whole world led to darkness. Atri who was granted with great powers due to austerity of many years, wretched the Sun from Rahu’s grasp and restored the light to the world. Being impressed with his deed Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu were born to Atri and Anusuya as Durvasa and Duttatreya.
If you are a quite devoted and spiritual person who also loves to be with nature then you should surely visit Anusuya Devi. The place will provide you with the deepest tranquility both spiritually as well as in terms of nature’s beauty.
