Vaishnavi –

The Manifestation of Goddess Shakti . The temple of Vaishno Devi is dedicated to Vaishnavi, the human manifestation of Goddess Shakti. Within the temple is the deity in the form of a five and half feet tall rock with three Pindies or heads. It is written that the goddess to achieve her destiny of finally merging with Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a human and was born as Vaishnavi, in the household of one Ratnakar. Even as a young girl, Vaishnavi displayed an immense thirst for knowledge that soon out thought her teachers. Soon she started to search within herself for the answers that she couldn't find elsewhere and learnt the art of meditation. Realizing the importance of Tapasya (meditation) Vaishnavi renounced all worldly comforts and betook herself to the forest to meditate in peace.
                                                                                                                       
The Legend

As the legend goes, more than 700 years ago Vaishno Devi a devotee of Lord Vishnu, used to pray to Lord Rama and had taken vow of celibacy. Bhairon Nath, a tantric (demon-God) tried to behold Her. Making use of his tantric powers, Bhairon Nath was able to see Her going towards the Trikuta mountains and gave chase. The Goddess felt thirsty at Banganga and shot an arrow into the earth from where water gushed out. Charan Paduka, marked by the imprints of Her feet, is the place where she rested. The Goddess then meditated in the cave at Adhkawari. It took Bhairon Nath nine months to locate Her, the reason why the cave is known as Garbh Joon. Mata Vaishno Devi blasted an opening at the other end of the cave with Her Trident when the demon-God located Her. On arriving at the Holy Cave at Darbar, she assumed the form of Maha Kali and cut off Bhairon Nath's head which was flung up the mountain by the force of the blow and fell at the place where the Bhairon Temple is now located. The boulder at the mouth of the Holy Cave according to the legend is the petrified torso of Bhairon Nath who was granted divine forgiveness by the benevolent Mata in his dying moments

THE YATRA

The Yatra begins at Katra and pilgrims have to cover 13 km of terrain on foot to reach the Darbar. One kilometer away from Katra, is Banganga, place where Mata quenched her thirst and at 6 km further down, is the holy cave at Adhkawari.The entire 13 km route is quite wide and tiled. Besides, the whole path is lit up every night by powerful sodium vapour lamps. The whole route is swept and cleaned from time to time throughout the day. Yatris are requested to keep the path clean. Shelter cum sheds and shelter cum cafeterias are setup throughout the route. Pure vegetarian food is available at these outlets. Price charts are exhibited at all these outlets prominently. Drinking water has been made available all along the route, with water coolers and storage facilities.
Public utilities with automatic flushing systems along the track and at the Bhawan. After 6 km. of trekking, you would reach Adhkawari, the holy cave where Mata meditated for nine months. Do visit the cave. After 9.5 km., you would reach Sanji Chhat where you can rest for sometime. Accommodation is also available at this place. Bhawan is just 3.5 km. away.

THE DARSHAN

At the entrance to the cave is a place called Bhavan where the worshipper buys prasad (offering to the God, a little of which is returned to the devotee for distribution amongst his near and dear ones) and other offerings. Here the Yatri is issued a token number on showing the Yatra ticket. The group no. and the time for the Yatri's turn is mentioned on the token. At Bhavan there are cloakrooms, lockers for your belongings and change rooms. It is customary to bathe and change clothes before joining the queue for the darshan. Amidst the continuous chanting of Jai Mata Di, pilgrims wait patiently for their turn after depositing their coconut at the entrance for which they are given tokens. Each one has to enter the cave alone as the tunnel to the shrine is very narrow and has to be negotiated with care. Once inside it widens out to provide darshan of the goddess. The return is via a different route that takes the devotee to the shrine of Bhairon and then back to Katra.                                                                                                                    

THE CAVE

The total length of the holy Cave is about ninety eight feet. Here you can see symbols of a large number of Gods and Goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. At the mouth of the original tunnel to the holy Cave on the left hand side of the rock face you can see the symbol of Vakra Tunda Ganesha. Adjacent to the symbol of Lord Ganesha you can see the symbols of Surya Dev and Chandra Dev. When you crawl into the holy Cave through the natural tunnel you cross over the Dhadh of Bhairo Nath who was beheaded by the Goddess at the entry point to the holy Cave. The Dhadh is fourteen feet long. After this you come across the symbol of Lord Hanuman who was also called Launkra Beer.
Beyond the Launkra Beer point you have to wade your way through water Twenty three feet beyond Launkra Beer, on the left upper hand side, the roof of the cave flares out and the weight of this over hang appears to the resting on the innumerable heads of Shesh Nag. Immediately below Shesh Nag there is the Havan Kund of Mata. Adjacent to the symbols of Shankh, Chakra, Gada and Padam. Higher up, almost touching the ceiling of the cave are the symbols of the five Pandavas, the Sapt Rishi, the Than of the divine cow, Kamdhenu, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiv and Parvati. Three feet further ahead, on an elevation some what lower than Shiv and Parvati, is the Khamba that was gripped by the legendary worshipper Prahalad. Diagonally below this, at the water level you can see the Yantra with innumerable mystical signs and symbols inscribed on it. Twenty two feet beyond this point, the Sher Ka Panja symbolising the lion, which is the mount of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji is located. The distance from the entry point to the Sher Ka Panja is fifty nine feet.. Six feet further ahead, on the left hand side, are the symbols of Shankar and Gouri. Thirteen feet beyond the symbols of Shankar and Gouri the holiest of the holy Pindies of ``Mata Maha Kali Ji'', ``Mata Maha Lakshmi Vaishno Devi Ji,'' and ``Mata Maha Saraswati Ji''.appear .To the right of the holy Pindies on the upper side we can once again identify the symbols of Ganesh, Surya Dev, Chandra Dev and Goddess Annapurna. Slightly behind the holy Pindies, on the right hand side you can see the symbol of the seated Sinh Raj. A little ahead of this you can make out the full hand of the Goddess raised in the Vard Hast mode, granting boons to the world. Immediately opposite the Holy Pindies is the natural symbol of Lord Pashupati Nath.Water(Charan Ganga) gushes out of the base of the holy Pindies and flows out of the holy Cave. Charan Ganga is collected in small containers by the devotees and is taken home. It is also channelised to the bathing ghat and the devotees can take a bath in this water before they join the queue for Darshan of the holy Pindies

The Pindies

The cave at the Trikuta mountain is indeed a unique cave as it is in this cave that Shakti in her incarnation of Vaishavi resides in a petrified rock form and it is only here that she is manifested in her 3 forms Maha Kali , Maha Lakhsmi and Maha Saraswati The holiest of the holy Pindies of "Mata Maha Kali Ji", "Mata Maha Lakshmi Vaishno Devi Ji" and "Mata Maha Saraswati Ji which are the ultimate destination for pilgrims are located at a distance of 91 feet inside the cave .In the surroundings symbols of 'Surya', 'Chander', 'Sinh Raj', 'Pashupatinath', 'Shiva' and 'Dhrupad Ji' are quite prominent. 

THE SIGNIFICANCE

The holy Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji is unique as it contains the holiest of holy Pindis manifesting Mata in her three forms which are Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati. Each of these forms represent particular attributes.

Maha Kali represents Tam Guna :

Tam stands for darkness or unholiness. In her attribute of Maha Kali, Mata is constantly endeavoring to vanquish the forces of darkness. She blesses her devotees by giving them strength to never lose heart and constantly battle the forces of darkness till they prevail upon them. Maha Lakshmi represents Raj Guna : Raj stands for sustenance, prosperity and well being. In her attribute of Maha Lakshmi Vaishno Mata blesses her devotees with wealth and prosperity and thus makes their life more comfortable and happy.

Maha Saraswati represents Satva Guna :

Satva stands for purity and goodness. In her attribute of Maha Saraswati, Mata blesses her devotees with pure thoughts and a high intellect. This enables them to distinguish between the good and the bad, between righteousness and unrighteousness and helps them to adopt the correct path in life.
A combination of these three attributes in a single Shakti is known as Mata Vaishno Devi Ji and this unique combination is what makes her revered all over the world. Each person on earth contains the attributes of Tam Guna, Raj Guna and Satva Guna in some degree or the other. His or her behavior is therefore, conditioned by the attribute that is predominant. However, to lead a full and meaningful life a balance has to be struck amongst the three. This balance is extremely difficult to achieve. It needs divine blessings. It is only at Vaishno Devi Ji that such blessings are possible simultaneously from a single source of Shakti . This is what makes the holy Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji unique in the world.

Charan Paduka Temple
This is where the goddess stopped for some time while Bhairon was chasing her. Her footprints are supposed to be visible on a stone at this place. Charanpaduka means "holy footprints". It is about 1.5 km from Ban Ganga at 3,380 feet.

Ardh Kuwari
Ardh Kuwari is the halfway point, and some pilgrims stay here for the night. There is a 15-foot-long cave called Garbha Joon where the goddess hid herself for nine months and showed herself to a saint. The cave is narrow, and you have to almost crawl all the way through it. When Bhairon entered the cave, the goddess made a new opening with her trident and ran away. Ardh Kuwari is 4.5 km from Charan Paduka and 4,800 ft above sea level.

The Bhairon (Bhairav) Temple:
This temple is about 2.5-km from Vaishno Devi cave at about 6,700 feet. It is traditional to visit this temple after visiting the Vaishno Devi Temple. Bhairon (Bhairav) was absolved of all sins when Durga killed him. When Bhairon was killed by the Goddess his head flew to this place. There is a huge stone outside the cave that represents the body of Bhairon. After he was killed, her prayed to the Goddess to forgive him. It is said that the Goddess gave the benediction that the desires of her devotees who visit this place would be fulfilled.

The Sri Ram Temple:
The Sri Ram Temple is near Vaishno Devi cave. There is a Shiva-linga in a cave 125 steps down from the Ram Temple

DO’s & DON’Ts

Take official receipts for all payments made to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board as well as private vendors.

Day 01 : Arrive Delhi

Garlanding on arrival , meeting and assistance and transfer to hotel . Overnight at hotel.

Day 02 : Delhi – Jammu – Katra

Morning transfer to airport to board flight for Jammu . On arrive drive staright to Katra .
Arrive Katra and check-in at hotel . Overnight at hotel .

Day 03 : Katra – Vaishno Devi –

Katra Morning begin trek up to Vaishnodevi a distance of 1700m. This is a cave dedicated to the 3 Goddesses of Hinduism. The distance upto this cave can either be trekked or can be covered by pony pack / doli. Evening return to hotel in Katra . Overnight at hotel .

Day 05 : Katra – Jammu

Morning depart by surface to Jammu . On arrival check-in at hotel . On arrival visit Temples . Overnight at hotel .

Day 06 : Jammu – Delhi

Morning transfer to airport to board flight for Delhi . On arrival transfer to hotel.

Day 07 : In Delhi

Morning city tour . Afternoon at leisure . Overnight at hotel .

Day 08 : Depart Delhi

In time transfer to airport to board flight for onward destination.

• Any airfare, Trainfare, airfare, services of personal nature i.e Table drinks, Tips, Laundry, Telephone bills, meals,
• Portage , Tips , entrance charges, and any other expenses
• Any airport departure tax.
• Any thing not mentioned in Cost include