📷 Navaneethpp · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Deities

Banni Mata

Forest Goddess of Chamba

Tradition · Hindu

Period · Ancient–Medieval

✓ Guardian-reviewed

Historical PeriodEra

Ancient–Medieval

3000 BCE

Ancient–Medieval

Present

Sacred Facts · At a Glance

Mantra

Om Banni Mataye Namah

Gender: female
Sacred Colours: greenredyellow
Sacred Offerings: flowers · coconut · rice · vermillion

Primary Scriptures

2 sources

Devī Māhātmyapurana
Local Himachali oral traditionsoral

Banni Mata

Forest Goddess

Overview

Banni Mata (बन्नी माता) is a goddess worshipped in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh.

Key Facts

State: Himachal Pradesh
District: Chamba
Type: Shakti Peeth

Source: Temple records

❀

✦Wisdom Graph: Divine Associations✦

MantraOm Banni Mataye Namah

Offerings: flowerscoconutricevermillion
Sacred colours: greenredyellow

📖 Stories

Forest Goddess
Banni Mata is a forest goddess worshipped by local communities in Chamba; she is associated with the forest ecosystem and local village protection.
— Local tradition

🪔 Worship Procedures

Daily rites

• morning āratī

• weekly pūjā

Puja sequence

flowers
rice
coconut
vermillion

🛕 Principal Temples

Banni Mata Temple9th–14th c.
📍 Chamba district, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India
32.5586°, 76.1215° — view on map
Festivals: Baisakhi · Navratri
Forest goddess shrine; part of Himachal Shakti Peeth network

🎊 Festivals

Banni Mata Fair
Baisakhi (Apr) · 3–5 days
Navratri Festival
Ashwin (Sep–Oct) · 9 days

📜 Primary Scriptural Sources

Devī Māhātmyapurana
Local Himachali oral traditionsoral

Sources & provenance

📜 2 Primary🎓 2 Scholarly📖 2 Tertiary

📜
Primary sourceBook
Jeffrey R. W. D. K. R. D. L.. The Goddess in India (2000)
📜
Primary sourceBook
John Stratton Hawley. Devi: The Goddess of India (2004)
🎓
Scholarly sourceBook
Himachal Pradesh Gazetteer (1900)
🎓
Scholarly sourceBook
Chamba District Gazetteer (1880)
📖
Supporting reference
Xuanzang's 7th-c. records of Himalayan goddess worship (7th c.)
📖
Supporting reference
Al-Biruni's observations on forest goddess traditions (1025)

Sacred Index

Knowledge Connections

Cite this Entry

"Banni Mata." ELGODS: Spiritual Encyclopedia of India, Deities, https://elgods.jambudweep.tech/explore/deities/banni-mata. Accessed August 22, 2026.

📿More in Hindu

Tirupparaittathurai Padmanābha

Ādi-Shakti form at Kollur Mookambika

Ādi Śaṅkara at Kaladi

Agni

Ahobilam Narasiṁha — 9 forms

Aiyanar of Pudukottai

🕉️Recommended for You

Arya Samaj

Ayyavazhi

Brahmo Samaj

Ganapatya (Ganesha Worship)

Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Hinduism

Banni Mata

Forest Goddess

Overview

Key Facts

✦Wisdom Graph: Divine Associations✦

📖 Stories

🪔 Worship Procedures

🛕 Principal Temples

🎊 Festivals

📜 Primary Scriptural Sources