JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131 THE GUARDIAN GODDESS OF CHAR DHAM'S IN UTTARAKHAND Sumit Hooda MA (History)- NET/JRF Uttrakhand SET HPPSC-SET Exam A goddess who personifies nature, motherhood, fertility creation, destruction is represented or categorized as ' mother goddess' . Even the earliest inhabitants of India were the worshipper of mother goddess . Their worship can be traced back to pre- Vedic, prehistoric India. Each and every state is known for it's different cultures and different beliefs similarly like many of the states in India, Uttarakhand also known as " Dev Bhoomi' possessed its different beliefs and practices. Many Goddesses are worshipped as ' Kul Devi' by the inhabitants of uttarakhand. The two most prominent mother goddesses that we will be discussing in detail in this paper are:- Dhari Devi and Surkanda Devi. Lying in the North of Vast and bountiful expanse of India and amalgamated with the beauty and calmness of Himalayas the Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand has been a centre of attraction for it's pilgrims since the time immemorial . The sacred pilgrimages include Haridware, the world famous char Dham Yatra i'e Badrinatha, Kedarnatha, Gangotri and yamunotri, Hemkund Sahid, Nanakmatta, Meetha- Reetha Sahib Volume 5, Issue 11, November/2018 Page No:1861 JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131 and Piran Kaliyar. These pilgrims are able to attract the seekers, to fulfill their spiritual desire since ancient times. Dhari Devi Temple is located between Srinagar and Rudrapryag in the pauri Garhwal region of Uttarakhand . The temple is situated in the middle of Alaknanda river . The temple contains the upper half of the idol of goddess Dhari, whereas the lower half of the idol is situated and worshippped in Kalimath as the manifestation of the Goddess Kali. According to legends it is believed that the torso portion of the idol was drifted apart from the original idol, during the floods in the Alaknanda river. The upper part of the idol was then found near the village known as Dhari. The local villagers along with the Dhunar caste of the village then placed the torso on the nearby high mountain. The Brahmanas of Dhari village are the priests of the Dhari temple. One of the most interesting aspect and belief associated with the goddess is that the stone carved deity changes faces from a girl to a women to an old lady during morning day and evening respectively. A large number of devotees visit the temple throughout the year. Out of the many festivals celebrated in Dhari Devi Temple, the most important festivals are Durga Puja and Navratra. The goddess is considered as the guardian deity of uttarakhand Volume 5, Issue 11, November/2018 Page No:1862 JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131 and is considered as the protector of char Dham's . the Shrine is amongst the 108 Shakti Sthals in India according to the numbering by Srimad Devi Bhagwat. The goddess is famous for fulfilling the desires of her believers. The believers use to tie huge bells in the premises of the temple in lieu of fulfilling their desires. The temple of Dhari Devi was demolished on June 16, 2013 due to the construction of 330 NW Alaknanda Hyduo Electric Dam. This project faced severe opposition from locals. Trying to find a middle way of keeping the beliefs of people safe and construction of the hydro dam, it was decided to shift the temple by constructing a platform vertically. The platform was ready, however moving of idol became difficult for the temple authorities as it might hurt the sentiments of the local & inhabitants. The Mandakani river started flooding on June 16 and a quick decision of relocating the idol was taken up by the temple authorities. In an interview given by Devi Prasad Pandey ( ex secretary) of Dhari Devi temple, he stated that, " By the evening the temple was under knee deep water there were reports of heavy rainfall, so shifting the Dhari Devi idol was the only alternative. We shifted the idol by 6.30pm". Call it a belief or superstition, the locals have claimed that angering the Goddess (Dhari Volume 5, Issue 11, November/2018 Page No:1863 JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131 Devi) will result the destruction . Their faith was further blostered when hours after the idol was relocated, a cloudburst his the Kedarnath Valley, washing away the entire shrine town and killing a large number of people. The entire world was shivering by seeing such a large scale devastation. The locals proclaimed that the goddess has shown her anger and Kedarnath and other parts suffered the damage. The goddess wanted to teach the atheists a lesson and that is why such a devastation was witnessed. Thus, to conclude one can state that according to the legends, dhari Devi a manifestation of goddess Kali, is seen as persevere and protector of Uttarakhand and the char Dham's . The deity is famous for changing her face appearance as the day progresses. The locals believed that the relocation of the idol, angered the goddess and as a result Uttarakhand was hit hard by a large scale devastation however, a question still arises , that is always tender, is it really the anger of the goddess or an alarm for human beings to stop interfering in the nature? Is it really a lesson from goddess to teach the atheists or a lesson from Nature towards all human beings to teach them that nature will always overpower humans and its high time that they should stop harming/ Volume 5, Issue 11, November/2018 Page No:1864 JASC: Journal of Applied Science and Computations ISSN NO: 1076-5131 destroying the nature, otherwise, the end is inevitable. BIBLIOGRAPHY Joshi, Hridayesh, the untold history of the Kedarnath disaster, 2016. Negi, Sunil, Havoc in Heaven, 2015. Purohit, Bhagwati Prasad, Dev Bhoomi ka Rahasys Uttarakhand Ke Tirth Mandir, 2011. Bartawal, V., Garhwali Gaathon me Lok aur Devta, 201. Sharma, D.D., Cultural history of Uttarakhand (IGNCA), 2009. Negi, Chandra Singh, Uttarakhand: Nature Culture, Biodiversity, 2016. Negi Dinesh, Ahuja, Priyanka, know Your State uttarakhand, 2016. Joshi, Hridayesh, Lal Lakeer, 2016. Cheema, Pooja, The last pilagrims: A True story of love, Loss and finally acceptance, 2017. Madan, Gaurav, Unearthed: An Insight to uttarakhand disaster, 2014 Volume 5, Issue 11, November/2018 Page No:1865.