https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Vajreshvari_DeviVajreshvari Devi - Revision history2026-08-18T02:20:44ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vajreshvari_Devi&diff=543393&oldid=prevMohamedmeera29: created new biography2026-04-06T09:29:26Z<p>created new biography</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Hindu goddess and one of the 51 Shakta pithas}}<br />
{{Infobox deity<br />
| type = Hindu<br />
| image = Kangrawalidevi.webp<br />
| name = Vajreshwari (Vajreśvarī)<br />
| other_names = Bajreshwari, Kangra Devi, Kangrawali<br />
| affiliation = [[Adi Shakti]], [[Shakti]]<br />
| deity_of = Thunderbolt/Diamond (Vajra)<br />
| equivalent1 = Kālī (Epithet)<br />
| equivalent2 = Durgā (Warrior)<br />
| equivalent3 = Nityā (Tantric Yoginī)<br />
| equivalent1_type = Tantric<br />
| equivalent2_type = Regional/Warrior<br />
| region = Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India<br />
| temples = Vajreshwari Devi Temple, Kangra ([[Shakta pithas|Shakta pitha]])<br />
| texts = Manthānabhairavatantra, Tantric texts<br />
| equivalent3_type = Tantric<br />
| member_of = [[Saat Behna (Seven Sisters goddesses)]]<br />
}}<br />
'''Vajreshvari''' (lang-sa|वज्रेश्वरी, {{IAST|Vajreśvarī}}), also known as '''Bajreshwari''', '''Kangra Devi''', or '''Kangrawali''', is a fierce form of the Hindu goddess [[Shakti]], primarily worshipped in the [[Kangra Valley]], [[Himachal Pradesh]]. Her name derives from ''vajra'' (thunderbolt or diamond) and ''īśvarī'' (supreme female ruler), literally meaning "Goddess of the Thunderbolt" or "Diamond Goddess".<ref name="WisdomVajreshvari">{{cite web |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vajreshvari |title=Vajreshvari |publisher=Wisdom Library |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref><ref name="Pramana1388">{{cite journal |title=Shakti Peethas of Himachal Pradesh: A Study of Vajreshwari Temple |journal=Pramana Research Journal |volume=9 |issue=12 |year=2019 |url=https://www.pramanaresearch.org/gallery/prj-p1388.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref> The principal centre of her worship is the '''Vajreshwari Devi Temple''' in [[Kangra, Himachal Pradesh|Kangra]], regarded as one of the 51 [[Shakta pithas]].<ref name="Pramana1388"/><ref name="JSTOR598894">{{cite journal |last=Hutchison |first=J. |last2=Vogel |first2=J. Ph. |title=History of the Panjab Hill States |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |volume=62 |issue=3 |year=1933 |pages=598–894 |publisher=JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/598894 |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Scriptural mentions ==<br />
Vajreśvarī appears in several Tantric texts. In the ''Manthānabhairavatantra'' she is identified as one of the nine Nitya Yoginīs particularly associated with Kāma.<ref name="WisdomVajreshvari"/> She is also described as an epithet of [[Kali]] while being invoked as the warrior form of [[Durga]] in certain rituals.<ref name="WisdomVajreshvari"/> In the Kangra region she is understood as a fierce manifestation of [[Mahadevi]].<ref name="Pramana1388"/><br />
<br />
== Legend ==<br />
According to local tradition, the Vajreshwari temple in Kangra marks the spot where the left breast of the goddess [[Sati (Hindu goddess)|Sati]] fell, making it one of the 51 Shakta pithas.<ref name="Pramana1388"/><br />
<br />
== Temple ==<br />
''Main Page - [[Vajreshwari Temple]]''<br />
<br />
The main shrine is the '''Vajreshwari Devi Temple''' in [[Kangra, Himachal Pradesh|Kangra]] town. Historically it was second in importance only to the nearby Jwalamukhi Temple and was a major source of revenue for the Kangra rulers.<ref name="JSTOR598894"/> The original structure was destroyed in the [[1905 Kangra earthquake]] and rebuilt in the 1930s.<ref name="Pramana1388"/><br />
<br />
== Historical practices and academic views ==<br />
Seventeenth-century European travel accounts and Mughal records describe the temple as a prominent centre of the Śakti cult where extreme acts of devotion, including self-mutilation and occasional ritual suicide, were performed as offerings of blood to ensure fertility.<ref name="ResearchGateBlood">{{cite journal |title=Blood for the Goddess: Self-mutilation Rituals at Vajreshwari Mandir, Kangra |year=2016 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301536043_Blood_for_the_Goddess_Self-mutilation_Rituals_at_Vajreshwari_Mandir_Kangra |publisher=ResearchGate |access-date=2025-11-25}}</ref> These blood-spilling practices were largely discontinued in the 18th century as they came into conflict with the emerging non-violent, Brahmanical representation of Hinduism promoted by urban elites.<ref name="ResearchGateBlood"/><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Forms of Durga]]<br />
[[Category:Shakta pithas]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu goddesses]]<br />
[[Category:Temples in Himachal Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu deities]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu temples]]<br />
[[Category:Hinduism]]<br />
[[Category:Hinduism in India]]</div>Mohamedmeera29