Jalandhara Shakti Peetha (Kangra) Shakti Peetha

Shri Bajreshwari Devi Temple is located in Kangra town, Himachal Pradesh, and is also known as Vajreshwari Devi, Brajeshwari Devi or Kangra Devi Temple. The shrine has long been an important and historically wealthy pilgrimage centre. It endured repeated invasions and rebuilding, and the temple was devastated by the 1905 Kangra earthquake. The present complex was reconstructed in the following decades. The goddess is worshipped in the sanctum as a sacred pindi, while smaller shrines and a Bhairava temple form part of the complex.

The temple is traditionally identified with Jalandhara Shakti Peetha. According to the tradition followed in this database, Sati’s left breast fell in the sacred Jalandhara region. The goddess is worshipped as Brajeshwari or Vajreshwari and is also associated with Jayadurga. Bhairava is named Abhiru, with Bhishan occurring as a variant. Textual lists differ in spelling and in defining the wider Jalandhara region, but the breast association is firmly maintained in the Kangra tradition.

Navratri is celebrated twice annually with special worship and large pilgrim gatherings. Makar Sankranti is especially distinctive: butter is ceremonially applied to the goddess’s pindi, recalling the tradition that the goddess treated her wounds after battle. Bajreshwari is a key destination in the Himachal Devi circuit and an important part of Kangra’s religious and historical identity.