Kaudi Mata Temple Kashi

Kaudi Mata Temple- Kashi

Kaudi Mata Temple in Kashi/ Varanasi is a small yet an important temple for devotees from South India. South Indians, when they visit Kashi, only by darshan of Kaudi Mata will their visit be fruitful. She is revered as sister of Lord Vishwanatha.

This temple is known by various names such as Chozhi or Cowrie Mata, and Gauri Mata temple, and the name owes its origin to the cowries or shells which are thrown to the goddess as offering.

Kaudi Mata was a grama devata from South India. She visited Kashi and began living there. Once a shadow of a lower caste fell on her while she was moving around in Kashi. This annoyed her and she felt that she was contaminated due to this. She immediately went to Ganga and took bath and got herself purified.

Sometimes she would not even see a shadow of a lower caste person as this would contaminate her. This went on for years in fact for yugas. Annapurna Mata who had been observing this, asked Kaudi Mata the reason for such a discrimination in Kashi.

Kaudi Mata gave an explanation, hearing which Annapurna Mata got angry. Annapurna Mata advised Kaudi Mata to stop discriminating between the living entities as in Kashi everyone was equal. Anyone who discriminates like this would have to be punished.

Annapurna Mata cursed Kaudi Mata to live in the residential area of lower castes and gave her Kaudi (conch shells known as cowry) as punishment. She ordained that henceforth the food and charity of Kaudi Mata would be cowry only.

Hearing this curse, Kaudi Mata ran to Lord Vishwanatha for help, who gave her a patient hearing. Lord Vishwanath emphasized with her but could not reverse the curse given by Annapurna Mata. Instead, he accepted Kaudi Mata as his elder sister and ordained that devotees coming from South India must have to worship Kaudi Mata to accrue the complete fruit of Kashi Yatra.

Since, then devotees from South India have been thronging the Kaudi Mata Temple and giving in charity the cowries to her.