Visit to The Kalimath Shakti Peeth – an unusual Temple in Rudraprayag

During our trip to Char Dham, we visited many other temples also en route. Kalimath Shakti Peeth Temple was one of them which is one of the 108 Shakti Peethas in India. It is located on the banks of the river Saraswati in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. This highly religious and the sacred temple is devoted to The Goddess Kali. It is one of the most visited temples in the Garhwal region.

The location of the temple was quite mesmerizing. As our legs were hurting after a long trek, we checked into a Dharamshala built by a spiritual guru, close to the temple. After taking rest for some time, we got ready for the pilgrimage. As we visited in June, the weather was quite favorable. The temple was not much packed with the devotees so we stayed there for a longer time in that spiritual environment. There were a few more small temples in the vicinity of this place and the vibes of the entire place were quite refreshing.

One thing that caught my sight was the locks of artificial dark black hair and a lot of bells hanging all around the temple. I was amazed to see as I believed those were the real hair of the Goddess. A serene river flows right next to the temple. Summers are the best time to visit this beautiful natural gem as warm afternoons are the blessings and cooler evenings are soothing. However, it looks amazing in the monsoon as well. The rains add beauty to the environment and give it a calming effect but at the same time, the routes become slippery and risky. We lived like locals for the next 2 days bathing and washing our basic utensils at the riverside. It was an exciting experience.

About the temple

It is believed that Goddess Kali killed a devil named Raktabeej and later settled underneath the ground at this place where the temple stands today. One surprising fact is that you will not find any idol of the Goddess here. Instead, the object of devotion which is worshipped is a Shri Yantra/Shakti Yantra (A silver plate). This is the only temple where Goddess Kali is worshipped along with the divine deities of Goddess Laxmi and Saraswati. This prominent pilgrimage is the birthplace of the great poet Kalidas who worshipped here for many years for pleasing the Goddess and gained wisdom in this temple.

Kalimath is well connected with Dehradun, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kedarnath by road, rail and air as well. Those 2 days were quite memorable in the lap of raw nature in a salubrious environment. Come back tomorrow for another story from me.