Historical Period13c CE
13th c. CE; current structure 17th c.
📷 Unknown artistUnknown artist · Public domain · source
Deities
Mansā Devī of Haridwar
Mansā — wish-granting goddess above Haridwar
Mansā — wish-granting goddess above Haridwar
This entry honours the self-representation of Hindu tradition. India's sacred landscape includes hundreds of traditions beyond the Brahminical-Vedic canon. Each has its own cosmology, priesthood, ritual calendar, and relationship with the sacred landscape. Each deserves first-person recognition.
Mansā Devī ("wish-granting mother") atop Bilwa Parvata at Haridwar is one of the 3 hill-top Shakti temples of Haridwar (with Chaṇḍī Devī and Māyā Devī). Pilgrims tie threads to a sacred tree for wish-fulfillment; when wishes are granted, they return to untie the threads. The temple is accessed by ropeway (built 1981) or a 1.5-km trek. Principal deity: 8-armed Mansā. Part of the Sapta-Puri pilgrimage of Haridwar. The Mansā Devī Mela during Navrātri draws half a million pilgrims.
Oṁ Mansāyai Namaḥ
Drawn from scholarly ethnographies of Indian tribal and regional religions (Roy, Vidyarthi, Sinha, Fuchs, Sarkar, Sontheimer, Kinsley), colonial-era gazetteers, and contemporary community documentation.
