Religion:Vindhyavasini

Short description: Hindu goddess

Vindhyavasini
Affiliation	Durga, Adi Parashakti, Parvati, Mahalakshmi, Subhadra
Personal information
Born	Gokul
Parents	Nanda (father) Yashoda (mother)
Siblings	Krishna Balrama

Vindhyavasini, Yogamaya, Mahamaya or Ekanamsha is the energy of God, and is a benevolent aspect of Durga. She is identified as a form of Adi Parashakti. She was the sister of Krishna and Balarama, born in the Yaduvanshi Gopa (caste) family in Nanda's house. Her temple is located at Vindhyachal, 8 km away from Mirzapur on the banks of river Ganges, in Uttar Pradesh. Another shrine is located in Bandla, Himachal Pradesh also called Bandla Mata Temple.

Legend

The idol of Vindhyavasini at the temple in the Vindhya Ranges

The goddess gets her name from Vindhya Range and the name Vindhyavasini, literally means, she who resides in Vindhya.

At the time of the birth of Krishna as 8th Child of Devaki and Vasudeva, Maha-Yogini Mahamaya had taken birth at same time at Nanda-Yashoda and as per the instruction from Vishnu, Vasudeva had replaced Krishna with this girl child of Yashoda. When Kamsa tried to kill this girl child she escaped from the hand of Kansa and turned into Durga form and informed him that Oh!! You fool!! The one who will kill you is already born and safe and vanished from the prison of Mathura.

The child, Yoga-māyā-devī, the younger sister of Lord Viṣṇu, slipped upward from Kaṁsa’s hands and appeared in the sky as Devī, the goddess Durgā, with eight arms, completely equipped with weapons

O Kaṁsa, you fool, what will be the use of killing me? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has been your enemy from the very beginning and who will certainly kill you, has already taken His birth somewhere else. Therefore, do not unnecessarily kill other children

Thereafter, she choose the Vindhyachala mountains to reside, where her temple is located at present. Some believes she reborn as Subhadra to help Krishna for establishing dharma.

Authors Constance Jones and James D. Ryan says, Vindhyavasini is mentioned in Devi Mahatmya, an important text that presents various incarnations or forms of the Great Goddess (Mahadevi). She is also mentioned in an early 19th-century local text called Vindhya Mahatmya. In both, she is Understood to be the Ultimate reality in its totality. She is also assimilated to Parvati, conceived of as ultimate divinity".

Temples

The temple is one of the most revered Shakti Peethas of India. The Vindhyavasini Devi is also known popularly by name of Kajala devi. Goddess Kali is adorned in the form of Vindhyavasini Devi.

The huge number of crowds visit the temple, especially during Navaratri in Hindu months of Chaitra and Ashwin. In month of Jyeshtha, the Kajali competition, a folk genre are held here.

There is a temple of Saraswati named Ashtbhuja Temple, 3 km away on a hillock and a temple of goddess Kali in cave called Kali khoh temple. The pilgrims prefer to visit these three temples, which is a part of rite called Trilokan Parikrama.

The goddess is known as "Bijasani devi " in middle of India and the Bijasani Mata temple is present on Maharashtra - Madhya Pradesh boundary.

There is also a temple dedicated to goddess in Pokhara, Nepal.

In Maharashtra on the borders of Pune & Raigad districts on the scenic Tamhini Ghat Road bordering the Mulshi Lake is a Temple of Vindhyavasini Vinzai Devi in the Village Tamhini. Vinzai Devi is the Family Goddess of people from the CKP Community carrying the surname Deshmukh, Pra dhan, Vilekar (those who belong to the Village Vile in Raigad Dist.) The annual Utsav of Vinzai Mata is on Chaitra Pournima / Hanuman Jayanti day.

See also

• Shaktipeeth
• Yashoda
• Subhadra

References

5.↑ Mahatmya of Maa Vindhyavasini

Bibliography

• Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816075645. https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC.