Dhari Devi Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Jollygrant airport is 155 km away, via Rishikesh and Srinagar.

• By train

  Kotdwar, 108 km away, or Rishikesh, 117 km away, are the nearest railheads.

• By road

  The temple is 15 km from Srinagar on National Highway 55, the road to Badrinath.

Why devotees come here

Dhari Devi Temple stands on the bank of the Alaknanda river at Kalyasaur, near Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal district. Dhari Devi is worshipped here as the upper half of an idol, and the lower half is at Kalimath. She is considered the guardian deity of Uttarakhand.

Her shrine is counted as one of 108 Shakta pithas in India, as numbered in the Srimad Devi Bhagwat. She is revered as the protector of the Char Dham.

Local belief tells a sad story. Her brothers killed her, cut her in two and threw her into the river. The upper half is said to have floated down to Kalyasaur village, where a washerman spotted it and it was placed on a rock. A mythological account adds that after a severe flood her idol was trapped against a rock near Dharo village, and villagers were guided to install it there.

The temple's early history is uncertain. There is no clear evidence of when the first temple was built, though it is said to be over 200 years old. On 16 June 2013 the idol was moved to a concrete platform about 611 metres above the Alaknanda river, to make way for a 330 MW hydel dam. A new temple was later built at the original location. Reports differ on the current position, so check locally.

Festivals

• Every yearNavratri

  Special worship is offered every year on Navratri, according to the district government page. The page does not give the dates.

Tips for your visit

• The temple is on the bank of the Alaknanda river, so the river runs right beside the shrine.
• The last 1 km is on cement rather than rough ground, which suits visitors who find uneven paths hard.

Questions people ask