kaila Devi

Description

Shri Kaila Devi Mandir Trust, Karauli, is the Governing and Administrative body of the Shri Kaila Devi Temple and all other temples on these premises. The trust is devoted to the seva of Maa Kailadevi and committed to ensuring the comfort of all darshanaarthis and pilgrims while also assisting with the development of the Kaila village and surrounding areas.

The Trust provides various facilities like accommodation, meals, refreshments and sanitation among others. The Trust also runs a school from class Jr KG to Std XII (English Medium and Hindi Medium), the drinking water supply and a hospital (Shri Kaila Devi Temple Trust Hospital) besides supporting many other welfare and philanthropic projects.

The Kailadevi region is eternally consecrated by the presence and blessings of Maa Kaila Devi and the ceaseless devotion of her worshippers . It is a place where all heads bow down in prayer, where faith and patience prevail and where infinite joy and everlasting contentment abounds.

 

The goddess Kaila Devi is revered as an incarnation  of the primordial energy, Mahayogini Maya who took birth as the child of Nanda-Yashoda. According to ancient myth, the father of  Lord Krishna, Vasudeo was told by Lord Vishnu to leave Krishna with Yashoda and get her newborn daughter back with him to the cell where he was imprisoned by Kansa. When Kansa tried to kill the girl child, she took on her divine form and told him that the infant Lord Krishna was already safe and sound. She is now worshipped as Kaila Devi, and as Vindhyavasini and Hinglaj Mata at other places.

A detailed description of Kaila Devi Ji is given in the Skanda Purana in the 65th Adhyaya wherein the devi is said to have proclaimed that in the Kalyug her name would be Kaila and she would be worshipped as Kaileshwari by her devotees.

The arrival of  the devi’s  pratima to this destination is a fascinating story. The goddess’s likeness is purported to have come to the forests in Karauli around the 11^th century.

Kaila Devi is said to have appeared to a local sage named Kedargiri assuring him that she would come to the people of the area. Folklore has it that a yogi fleeing from Nagarkot, brought it with him on a bullock cart to save it from invaders. The bullock stopped in the central part of the hill amid the dense forest and refused to budge. By divine ordinance the statue was established at that very place where it remains to this day.

With the blessings of Kaila Devi, the Yaduvanshi rulers of Karauli have always maintained a deep connection with the temple.

Maharaja Gopal Singh ji laid the foundation of  the temple in 1723.  He also established the statue of Chamunda Ji, bringing it from a cave near  the fort of Gagraun where it used to be worshipped by the Khinchi ruler Mukund Das Ji circa 1150.

Arjun Pal Ji built a large Kund, which exists to this date and was one of the earliest large-scale, man-made sources of water in the area.

Maharaja Bhanwar Pal, coming to the throne in 1886, had the temple reconstructed with more modern architecture and had several facilities constructed for the pilgrims such as the Durga Sagar well. He also started the construction of the  beautifully carved, Badi Dharamshala which was completed by Maharaja Bhom Pal  in 1927, with a large scale electric power house. In 1947, Maharaja Ganesh Pal had both the interior and exterior of the temple refurbished in marble. The current Maharaja, Krishna Chandra Pal has also made several radical improvements and added multiple modern facilities, as well as starting the Kailadevi Senior Secondary School which provides high quality residential education at a nominal fee. New dharamshalas, Ram Bhavan and Kansal Bhavan have been built and some existing ones-Sita Bhavan, Ratan Devi and the Dholpur Dharamshala have been reconstructed.

In 2017, a project to ornament  the dome of the temple in pure gold was completed. The blazing gold of the intricate dome make it one of the most striking pilgrimage sites in the country.

The Kaila Devi temple has a glorious past and with the blessings of Kaila Devi Ji herself and with the prayers of her worshippers, has an equally great presence in the future.,

 

The temple is dedicated to the worship of the Goddess Kailadevi as Mahalakshmi and as Mahayogini. The pratima of Chamunda ji, a form of Mahakali is also worshipped alongside Ma Kailadevi.
While the statue of Ma Kailadevi had been worshipped at this sthan since ancient times, the temple was built by the Yaduvanshi ruler, Maharaja Gopal Singh ji of Karauli in the 1700s.
The temple stands on the Trikut parvat on the banks of the Kalisil river .
On an average, more than 50 lakh devotees visit annually to have darshan of Shri Kailadevi Ma. Lakhs of devotees visit during the famous Kailadevi Chaitra Mela held during the ‘Chaitra’ Navratras. Pilgrims come from all over the country, especially from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The temple premises are well maintained and equipped with all necessary facilities like darshan lane, bhojan vyavastha, prasad counters, havan sthali, donation counters etc. Accommodation facilities are also provided by the Trust. The booking of the accommodation can be done at the Yatri Sahayata Kendra offline, and through the website online.
The temple and surrounding areas have undergone many developments and improvements both structurally and aesthetically. Today, the temple stands as a magnificent building of gleaming white marble with the dome ornamented with gold.
The temple is accessed through a series steps leading to a hallway in front of the main sanctum with highly ornamented columns and multi-foliated arches on either side. The staircases leading to the upper floor are covered in exquisite 18th century miniatures that have been carefully conserved.
The main courtyard has a pandal, and large covered areas which provide weather protection to the darshanaarthis and are fitted with lighting, fans and other facilities. In the north-east corner of the courtyard is a Yagyashala where devotees can perform havans.
The Ganesha Temple: The Ganesha temple is one of the three identical temples in front of the main temple structure. It has multifoliated arched openings on two facades with the deity in the central enclosure. Two other facades have sandstone jaalis in the arched openings.
The Languriyaji Temple: The temple houses the murti of Languriyaji. It has a ribbed dome in sandstone with an inverted lotus painted and a metal finial raised on an octagonal drum. The drum has idols of lions on four corners.
The Shiva Temple: This temple made in the year 1983, has a similar layout to that of the adjoining two temples.
To the right of the main entrance is a Peepal tree around which a marble platform has been made. Devotees light diyas at this sacred spot.

The daily regime of the temple is as follows:

4:00 am	Temple opens
4:00 – 4:30 am	Mangaldarshan (1st look at the Goddess)
4:30 – 5:30 am	Temple closes
5:30 – 6:30 am	Temple opens for darshan
6:30 – 6:45 am	Shringar of Devi
7:00 am	Aarti and Bhog
11:00 am	Raj Bhog
12:00 – 1:00 pm	Temple closes
5:00 pm	Baada aarti
7:00 pm	Aarti and Bhog
8:30 pm	Temple closes
9:00 – 9:30 pm	Jagran
9:30 pm	Temple closes