Introduction
Devbhoomi is just 25-30 km north-west of Ranikhet in the heart of Almora district in the lap of Himalayas of Uttarakhand. m. ‘Shri Naithna Devi Temple’, a symbol of people’s faith for centuries, is situated on the mountain peak of Naithna under Naubada Gram Sabha, full of panoramic natural beauty, at a distance of 1500 meters. It is believed that in Dakshayagya, after seeing the fierce form of Lord Shankar wandering in the universe carrying the dead body of Sati, who was very angry due to the self-immolation of mother Sati, enraged by her father’s behaviour, On the prayers of the gods and sages, the Sudarshanchakra released by Lord Vishnu divided Sati’s body into many pieces. Wherever those body parts and ornaments etc. fell, they were called Shaktipeeths. One of these, Shri Naithana Devi (Maa Bhagwati) is also worshiped as Shaktipeeth. Located at a height of about 6000 feet above sea level, to the east of this temple of Maa, at a depth of about 3-4 kilometers, Lord Ashutosh is present in the form of Bageshwar, whereas in the west, at the same depth, Bhumiya Devta, a symbol of immense devotion of the people, is present. Relieving people’s suffering. To its east are the Dunagiri (Dronagiri) and to the west are the Manila mountain ranges. The south direction is adorned with snow covered Nandadevi rock ranges. In the north-east direction, the mountain king Himalayas are enhancing their beauty, seeing which one remembers these lines from ‘Kumarasambhava’ written by the great poet Kalidas –
The forests around the temple adorned with pine, oak, kaphal etc. trees are adding to the beauty, while below in the foothills, the holy Ramganga river flows continuously and cleanses the feet of the Mother Goddess. Such a delightful sight can take any devout person to the depths of spirituality. This place is very suitable and best for great people who want to introspect in silence and solitude. In front of it, towards the north-east direction, there are villages equipped with beautiful terraced fields and there is also Uttamasani Government Inter College, which has been a center of education for the last several decades. The forests here are filled with red flowers of Buransh in the months of March-April. The present form of this temple of Mother Goddess, full of unique natural beauty, was built in the third decade of the twentieth century around 1930 by the famous saint of Kumaon, Swanamdhanya Shri Harnarayan Swami Ji, with the help of the villagers, who is also a part of the temple of the nearby and far-flung people. It is a center of immense reverence.
historical background
Hardly anyone can tell from when this place of the omnipresent Mother was illuminated, but to bestow her blessings on the local people, the Mother appears in the form of a deity for any reason. There is a folk tale that where this idol of Mother Goddess is installed, there were bushes. A family from a village named Chauda near Someshwar in Almora district migrated and settled near village Gohad. When one of the brothers of these people became a sage, the name of this village was Muniyachaura which is prevalent till today. The younger brother used to do farming work and rear cows and buffaloes. A cow of this family used to come and stand at the idol of Naithana Devi every night and offer all its milk to the idol of the mother, after which she returned home. . The owner of the cow thought that perhaps someone milked the milk at night. To know this secret, one day he secretly started keeping an eye on the cow in the cow shed. He saw that suddenly at midnight the cow came out of its pen freely and She went towards the hill towards the north and came back before morning and tied herself to her peg. The man got disturbed by this incident, hence one day he chased the cow at night with an ax in his hand. He saw that the cow was purifying its milk in the bushes, he was unaware that the cow was anointing the idol of Goddess Bhagwati with its milk. Enraged, the man attacked the idol of the Mother with an axe, the mark of which can be clearly seen even today. He could not even discern whose illusion it was, he had actually seen Mother Bhagwati, perhaps it was destiny, at that very moment a voice came from the sky that if you did not do it right, you will have to suffer the consequences. It has also been said:-
Frightened by the incident, after returning home, he told all the details to his sons, they too were very sad to hear this and in time they fled from there and settled first in Chauda village, three-four kilometers away, then in Naila, but they did not find peace. Many types of sufferings, epidemics, poverty and terrible diseases did not leave him. The people there were well aware of the incident that happened with their ancestors, in such a situation they worshiped Goddess Naithana and promised that in the future, the first milk of the newly born cow of their village and the first grain of the crop of the village will be offered to Maa Bhagwati Shri Naithana. Will offer to the goddess. From then till today this tradition is continuing uninterrupted and the people there are following this tradition with devotion.
