Dhumavati Temple (Shulatank Jvalaamukhee)

The only temple of Maa Dhumavati and here Goddess Maa gives darshan to her devotees only on Saturdays.

In Sanatan Dharma, among the ten major Rudra incarnations of Shiva, the seventh incarnation is known by the name Dyumvan. The power of this incarnation is considered to be Devi Dhumavati. In such a situation, the temple of Maa Dhumavati Devi present in Datia, Madhya Pradesh is considered to be the only temple of Bhagwati Dhumavati in the country and the world.

In fact, there is a temple of ‘Maa Dhumavati Devi’ in the courtyard of the Shaktipeeth (Pitambra Peeth, Datia) of Maa Pitabara, the goddess of royalty. Pitambara Peeth is considered as the famous Shaktipeeth of the country.

Apart from Baglamukhi Devi, Maa Dhumavati Devi temple, there are many other temples including Vankhandeshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the temple complex. The Vankhandeshwar temple built here holds a special place among the temples of Mahabharata period.

In such a situation, Dhumavati Jayanti is celebrated on the incarnation date of Goddess Mother Dhumavati i.e. Ashtami of Shukla Paksha of Jyeshtha month.

The form of Mother Dhumavati…
Actually, Mother Dhumavati Devi Dhumavati is considered to be a very fierce form of Mother Parvati, regarding the form of Goddess, it is believed that the form of Goddess Dhumavati appears very dirty and fierce.

Her form is that of a widow and her vehicle is a crow, apart from this she is wearing white clothes and has open hair. Despite their extremely aggressive nature, they are beneficial for the children.

Appearance of Mother Dhumavati…
Some stories related to the appearance of Mother Dhumavati are found in Mythological Story of Goddess Dhumavati. According to one of these stories, when Sati was hurt by the insult to Lord Shiva, she voluntarily burnt herself to ashes in her father’s yagya.

In such a situation, Dhumavati was born from the smoke that came out of his burning body. That’s why she always remains sad. Dhumavati is believed to be the physical form of Sati in the form of smoke.

According to another story, Sati was once wandering in the Himalayas with Shiva. Then he felt very hungry. She said to Shiva – ‘I am hungry’, arrange food for me. Shiva said – ‘No arrangements can be made right now’. Then Sati said – ‘Okay, I will eat you only and she will eat only you’ Swallowed. Shiva himself, despite being Devadhidev Mahadev and being the creator and maintainer of this world, also participated in the Leela of the Goddess.

After this, when Lord Shiva requested him to ‘take me out’, he spit it out and threw it out…After taking her out, Shiva cursed her that ‘from today onwards you will remain a widow, since then she is in the form of a widow.

At the same time, some experts believe that in the Puranas, cursed, abandoned, feeling hungry and swallowing the husband, all these are symbolic symbols of man’s desires, which never end and hence he always remains unsatisfied. Mother Dhumavati points towards devouring those desires i.e. destroying them.

Mata’s temple is in Pitambara Peeth…
It is said that there used to be a cremation ground at the place of the world famous Maa Pitambara Peeth present in Datia, but today there is a world famous temple here. Local people believe that the ritual of Maa Pitambara brings success in litigation etc.

There is also a temple of ‘Maa Dhumavati Devi’ in the same courtyard of Pitambara Peeth, regarding which it is believed that this is the only temple of Bhagwati Dhumavati in India.

It is said that Pitambara Peeth was established by Swamiji Maharaj in 1935. According to the local people, Swami Maharaj took retirement from childhood and lived here as an independent monolithic celibate saint. Swamiji was a great scholar and famous writer. He also wrote many books in Sanskrit and Hindi.

Swamiji Maharaj himself had installed the statues of ‘Baglamukhi Devi’ and Dhumavati Mai at this place.

The only temple of Goddess Dhumavati…
Maa Bhagwati Dhumavati Devi Temple built in the courtyard of Pitambara Peeth is considered to be the only one in the country and the world. It is said that many scholars had forbidden Swamiji Maharaj to establish Maa Dhumavati in the temple premises. Then Swami ji said – “Mother’s fierce form is for the wicked, she is very kind towards the devotees.”