Mata Chintapurni Temple

Mata Chintapurni Temple in Himachal Pradesh is dedicated to Mata Chintpurni.It is located in the Una district. The Chintpurni Shakti Peeth is dedicated to the temple of Chinnamastika Devi or Chinnamasta Devi. Chhinnamasta or Chinnamastika temple is one of the 7 major and 51 total Shakti Peethas.

 

Significance of the temple :

Chintpurni Maa “Chinta” Means"worry", tension or worries act as a slow poison. Maiya saves her bhakts from it, giving elixir of life, by fulfilling their desires and hence rightly known as CHINTAPURNI. The sacred place belongs to 'Chhinnmastika Devi ' i.e. the goddess without head. The goddess is also known as the Abode of Chhinnamastila. While the most popular name is CHINTAPURANI.

Chintapurni maaa is one of the revered Shakti Peetha. It is this place where the feet of Sati fell after her body was cut off into pieces by the Sudarshan Chakra of Lord Vishnu to calm the anger of Lord Shiva. When sati had given herself to Agni durning the yagna conducted by the Dakshprajapati father of Sati. Maa Chintpurni Devi is believed to fulfil the wishes of the devotees. The image of the deity inside the temple is headless and the head, it is said, was cut off to satisfy the blood thirst of her companions. It is because of this that deity here is called Chinmastika Devi.

History :

Pandit Mai Das, a Saraswat Brahman, is generally believed to have established this shrine of Mata Chintpurni Devi in Chhaproh village in the ancient times. Over the time this place became known as Chintpurni after the eponymous deity. His descendants still live in Chintpurni and perform prayers and puja at the Chintpurni temple. These descendants are the official priests at the Temple.

Some Legends :

When Lord Vishnu cut up the body of Sati into 51 pieces so that Lord Shiva would calm down and stop his Tandava, the pieces were scattered over various places in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed that parts of Sati’s Forehead fell at this place and is thus considered one of the most important of the 51 Shakti Peethas.

The goddess resident in Chintpurni is also known by the name of Chhinnamastika. According to Markandeya Purana, goddess Chandi defeated the demons after a fierce battle but two of her yogini emanations (Jaya and Vijaya) were still thirsty for more blood. Goddess Chandi cut off her own head to quench Jaya and Vijaya’s thirst for more blood.

She is usually shown holding her own severed head in her hand, drinking one stream of blood spurting from the arteries in her neck, while at her side are two naked yoginis, each of whom drinks another stream of blood.

Chhinnamasta, the headless goddess, is the Great Cosmic Power who helps the sincere and devoted yogi to dissolve his or her mind, including all the preconceived ideas, attachments and habits into the Pure Divine Consciousness. Cutting off the head suggests the separation of the mind from the body, that is the freedom of the consciousness from the material confines of the physical body.

According to Puranic traditions, Chhinnamastika Devi will be protected by Shiva - Rudra Mahadev in the four directions. There are four Shiva temples - Kaleshwar Mahadev in the east, Narayhana Mahadev in the west, Muchkund Mahadev in the north and Shiva Bari in the south - which are nearly equidistant from Chintpurni. This also confirms Chintpurni as the abode of Chhinnamastika Devi.

Temple Timings

Opening Timings :

In Winter : 5:00am to 9:30pm

In Summer : 4:00am to 10:00pm

Aarti Timings :

Morning Aarti : 6:00am

Evening Aarti : 8:00pm

Bhog Timings :

Afternoon : 12:00pm

Shringar Timings :

Morning : 4:00am

Offerings :

Devotees would usually collect all itmes to offer, to revered Maa Chintpurni, or for any deity they pray to, in a plate (thali or tokri) and is called Bheint in Her honour. All devotees take various items as per thier devotion. From a petal of a flower to enormous garlands, from a piece of fruit to grandest of meals, whatever is offered to Her with sincere devotion, is acceptable to Her.

Festivals :

It is grand festivity and most sacred time for Maa Durga devotees at the Mata Chintpurni temple during Navratri each year. Navratri festival is dedicated to Maa Durga and is celebrated for nine days. The word Navratri itself means ‘nine nights’. Each day of the Navratri is dedicated to one of the nine manifestions of Maa Durga, all nine together called NavDurga. Navratri is observed in the months of Chet (March – April), Sawan (July – August) and Ashwin (October – November) each year. 


The most revered Mata Chintpurni Mela (fair) is held for ten days during the Sawan Navratri. This falls between July and August each year. The temple observes great festivity during Navrati days. Devotees from far and near visit the temple to seek Maa Chintpurni’s blessings during these special days. The fair continues day and night for all nine days but the devotees presence is the largest on its eighth day called the Ashtami. Devotees come by private vehicles, public transport buses or even on foot. 


Maa’s devotees, individually or as groups, set up langar (free food service) all along the road reaching the temple. Langar is freely distributed to all passing by the road. Food items of all sorts, rice, vegetables, sweets, water, etc are used for distribution. This continues for all nine days of the festival. Devotees, in large numbers, visiting the temple enjoy the travel and sing praises of Maa Chintpurni Ji. Medical stalls are also put up along the way to ensure availability of medical facilities as well. 

Weather

Spring : About mid-February to mid-April. Winter starts losing its bite around mid-February.

 

Summer : Mid-April to end of June. It is hot in summer and light cottons are recommended. 

Rainy season : July - September. Still quite warm and humid on most days. Plenty of rain.

Autumn : October - November. Days are pleasantly warm, nights are cool. May need light woollens at night or in early mornings.

Winter: December - January. It is quite pleasant during the day when the sun is out and you may get by with one layer of woollen clothing. The winter nights are cold and an extra layer of woollens is required.

In general, temperatures in Chintpurni are about 5 Celsius lower than in the Punjab and Haryana plains.

Travel Info :

By Road: Frequent public transport bus services are available within Himachal Pradesh and from nearby states of Punjab and Haryana, and from Delhi. Bus routes connect various locations to Bharwain or Chintpurni bus stop. Distances from the Chintpurni bus stop to few locations are given below:

Delhi to Chintpurni: 404km on NH1
Chandigarh to Chintpurni: 184km on NH21
Hoshiarpur to Chintpurni: 46.6 km on NH70 and NH503
Kangra to Chintpurni: 58 km on NH88 and NH503
Naina Devi to Chintpurni: 108 km
Vaishno Devi to Chintpurni: 250 km

Taxis can be hired at any of these locations.
Please use the Google Map displayed here to view the distance from your location to Maa chintpurni Temple and find the optimal route to follow.

By Train: The closest railway stations are Una (54 km), Amb (21 km), and Hoshiarpur (48.2 km). A number of trains are available to reach any of these stations. Details of the train schedules can be had at the Indian railways website. 

By Air: Gaggal Airport on NH20 is the nearest airport at a distance of 66.2km from Chintpurni. Gaggal falls in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Other close airports are Sree Guru Ram Das Jee Internatoinal Airport, Amritsar (166 km) and Chandigarh International Airport, Chandigarh (170 km).