HISTORY OF MATA VAISHNO DEVI TEMPLE, JAMMU-KASHMIR
The final resting place of a devotee is Vaishnavi, who appears as a five-and-a-half-foot-tall rock with three heads, or the Pindies, on top.
It is impossible to pinpoint the precise beginning of the pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine, as with most ancient Shrines. The Holy Cave's age has been estimated by geologists to be close to a million years. Vedic literature has no mention of worshipping any female deities, however, the earliest of the four Vedas, the Rigveda, does make mention of the peak Trikuta. Shakti worship mostly had its beginnings during the Puranic era.
The Mahabharata epic contains the earliest reference to the Mother Goddess. Arjun, the foremost warrior of the Pandavas, concentrated on the Mother Goddess and requested Her blessings for victory when the Pandava and Kaurva armies were positioned on the Kurukshetra battlefield at the advice of Sri Krishna. At this point, Arjun addresses the Mother Goddess as "you who constantly live in the temple on the slope of the mountain in Jamboo" (Jambookatak Chityaishu Nityam Sannihitalaye) (probably referring to the present-day Jammu).
Also, it is widely accepted that the temples at Kol Kandoli and Bhawan were initially constructed by the Pandavas out of respect and devotion to the Mother Goddess. Five stone buildings said to represent the rock emblems of the five Pandavas, are located on a mountain directly next to the Trikuta Mountain and overlooking the Holy Cave.
Guru Gobind Singh, who is claimed to have traveled there via Purmandal, is the historical person whose visit to the Holy Cave is perhaps mentioned in the earliest sources. This well-known place of worship was traversed by the ancient footpath that led to the Holy Cave.
Given that Mata Sati's skull was dropped here, some traditions consider this shrine to be the holiest of all Shaktipeeths (a location where the Mother Goddess, the Eternal Energy, has Her home). Some think her right arm may have dropped from this position. Yet, certain biblical passages contradict it. They do concur that Sati's right arm had fallen in Kashmir at a location known as Gandarbal. Nonetheless, one may still see the stone bones of a human hand, known as Varad Hast, in the Holy Cave of Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji (the hand that grants boons and blessings).
The final resting place of a devotee is Vaishnavi, who appears as a five-and-a-half-foot-tall rock with three heads, or the Pindies, on top. These Pindies make up the Sanctum Sanctorum of the famed Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji temple, located inside a sacred cave.
The place as built on the mountains is so beautiful that one feels so refreshed and full of energy, power, and positivity. The blessings of the goddess make a person more strengthened and leads to the path of spirituality making the person do the righteous things in life.
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