Description:
On the Trikuta hills, 13 kms near Katra Town which is around 50 kms from Jammu, is the famous cave temple of Mata Vaishno Devi. Here the Mother Goddess is assumes three forms of energy, the creator, the protector and the destroyer. The clear water of the Ganges trickles regularly on the feet of the goddess. Every year around four million devotees visit the shrine and offer their prayers. It is said all the wishes of the devotee are fulfilled and rarely any one goes disappointed.
Legend goes that Mata Vaishno Devi came here to take shelter and persuade her penance. She was being troubled by one of the demons, Bhairon Nath who had taken fancy on her beauty and wanted to acquire her. But the Mata was devoted to Lord Vishnu who had promised her in one of his lives as Lord Ram, that he would marry her one day, if she would continue her penance. But when Bhairon Nath kept on following her on every trail she was very angry and assuming the form of the destroyer Mata Kali, killed him and settled permanently in these mountains. It is said that the pilgrimage to the temple is not complete until one visits the Bhairon Nath temple another 2 kms away frm the shrine where Bhairon Nath's head is believed to have fallen.
Other than the devotional aspect of the place, the surroundings are immensely beautiful with lush green mountains and deep valleys where you can see gushing waterfalls.
