Chandrika Devi Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport serves the city of Lucknow.

• By train

  Lucknow Railway Station at Charbagh is the main long-distance station. Bakshi Ka Talab is one of the suburban stations on the city network.

• By road

  Lucknow city buses run on about 35 routes, with 260 buses in the city.

Why devotees come here

Chandrika Devi Temple stands on the bank of the Gomti river at Bakshi Ka Talab, in Lucknow district, Uttar Pradesh. It is dedicated to Chandrika Devi, a form of Durga. Lucknow regards her as its kuldevi, the family deity of the city.

Chandrika Devi is worshipped as a form of Durga, and the temple is dedicated to her. Lucknow regards her as its kuldevi, and devotees come from the districts of Uttar Pradesh as well as from the city. Local belief says Durga appeared in the hollow of an old neem tree. The priest Ram Asre Vajpayee says Durga manifested here on her own.

No one has exact information on when the temple was founded. Bakshi Ka Talab is a nagar panchayat town in Lucknow district. The area takes its name from a large tank built by Bakhshi Tipur Chand, paymaster to Nasir-ud-Din Haidar Shah, in the first half of the 19th century. Inside the temple, nine idols of Durga are installed. A Shiva lingam and a shrine to Bhairav are also worshipped here, alongside Durga.

Festivals

• NavratriNavratri

  A large fair is held here during the nine nights of Navratri.

Tips for your visit

• Parents get their children's mundan, the head-shaving rite, done here, because devotees believe a child whose head is shaved at this temple never falls ill.
• Bakshi Ka Talab also has a temple to Banke Bihari, built facing the main road.
• Inside the temple, nine idols of Durga are installed, with a Shiva lingam and a Bhairav shrine alongside them.

Questions people ask