Padar Chamunda Devi Temple is situated 10 km west of Palampur, on the Baner River in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh. It is a colorful Shakti shrine, which has a furious form of Durga or Chamunda. The idol in the temple is very sacred and hence it is totally hidden beneath a red cloth. It is believed that Lord Shiva is present here in the form of death, destruction and dead bodies, together with Devi Chamunda. On either side of Devi’s idol are Hanuman and Bhairo. The main temple i.e. Aadi Himani Chamunda is much older than this one, it is on the hill and it is difficult to get there, that’s why about 400 years ago this temple was built for the comfort of worshippers.
This temple is dedicated to ‘Ma Chamuda’, another avatar of Devi, the Supreme Mother Goddess. The name Chamunda or Camunda is a combination of ‘Chanda’ and ‘Munda’, two monsters that Devi killed.
Here the devotees offer prayers and worship to Devi and also give offerings for their ancestors. Here, taking a dip in Ban Ganga and reciting the writings of Shat Chandi are considered to be sacred. In the older days, people used to offer sacrifices to the deity. Here, the Goddess Chamunda is enshrined as Chief Goddess with the title of Rudra in the battle between Lord Shiva and demon Jalandhra, which made this place renowned as “Rudra Chamunda”. There are scenes from the Devi Mahatmya, Ramayan and Mahabharata.
Padar Chamunda Devi Temple Timings:
Winter Timings:
Morning: 6:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Evening: 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Summer Timings:
Morning: 5:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Evening: 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Aarti Timing:
Winter: 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM
Summer: 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM
Camunda Devi Temple History:
About 400 years ago, the king and a Brahmin priest prayed to Devi to allow them to move the temple to an easily accessible location. Devi appeared to the priest dreams giving her consent. She asked him to dig in a certain place and an idol would be found and this idol should be installed in the temple and worshiped in her form.
The king sent some mens to bring the idol. Although they were able to locate the idol, but could not lift it. Again, Devi appeared in priest dream. She explained that the men could not lift the holy idol because they considered it to be an ordinary stone. She told him to get up early in the morning, bathe, put on clean clothes, and go to the place in devotion. He did as she told and found he could easily lift what a large group of men couldn’t.
Padar Chamundi Devi Temple Address:
Chamunda Temple Path,
Padar,
Kangra district,
Himachal Pradesh – 176052.
