Baglamukhi Temple, Kangra

Baglamukhi Temple at Bankhandi ,Kangra in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India is considered as a center of Tantricism. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Baglamukhi, one of the ten forms of the wisdom goddesses, symbolizing the potent female primeval force.

"Baglamukhi" is derived from "Bagala" and "mukha", meaning "bridle" and "face" respectively. Thus, the name means one whose face has the power to capture or control. and she therefore represents the hypnotic power of the Goddess. Baglamukhi also means “crane faced”.

The story behind the origin of Goddess Bagalamukhi appears in Svatantra Tantra. A demon called Madanasura secured 'Vaksiddhi' (Communication Skills) but misused it to trouble human beings. He stimulated storms to kill innocent people. Feeling helpless, Devas prayed to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu went to Saurashtra and began performing penances to appease Tripurasundari on the shore of Haridra lake. Pleased with Lord Vishnu, Tripurasundari emerged from the lake as a deceitful Goddess, Baglamukhi.

Goddess Baglamukhi was yellow-complexioned and was clad in yellow garments. She was decked with gold ornaments and was adorned with a garland of yellow flowers. She had two arms and three eyes.She had turmeric paste anointed on her body and held a huge club in her right hand.

Stopping the storm, Baglamukhi challenged Madanasura for battle. In a fierce battle, she killed the demon by pulling out his tongue and breaking his skull with her club.

Baglamukhi temple at the village of Bankhandi is the most famous and powerful Shakti Peeth of Goddess Baglamukhi where siddhi pujas are performed for various purposes. It is said that the pujas performed at this temple are very powerful to gain victory in legal cases and to defeat enemies or rivals.

Goddess Baglamukhi is worshipped for gaining power, victory & dominance over enemies. She also offers protection from operations & injuries. Her worship is said to help in achieving success in legal cases and settling disputes in the worshipper's favour. Goddess Baglamukhi is also effective in warding off evil spirits.

Hundreds of devotees visit the temple to perform yagnas and havans to get the desired results. The temple is also famous as many renowned politicians also visit the temple to perform pujas especially before the elections to gain victory.

Maa Baglamukhi is identified as the power of cruelty. She is described as the fierce goddess with three eyes, wearing yellow clothes and gems, moon as her diadem and wearing a garland of flowers with one hand holding the tongue of the enemy and with the left hand spiking him. Bagalamukhi literally translates into "The Crane-Headed One". The bird Crane symbolizes deceit. Thus Maa Baglamukhi rules magic & tantra for the suppression of enemies. She rules deceit which is at the heart of most speech.

Baglamukhi temple is located around 30 km from Kangra and is close to Jwala Ji, Chintpurni Devi and Chamunda Devi Temple. Yellow colour is said to be the favourite colour of the Goddess. Due to this reason, the temple is painted in yellow colour. The devotees wear yellow attire while having darshan and yellow desserts (besan ki laddoo) are offered to the deity in the temple as bhoga.

Tantra sadhna of Maa Baglamukhi is said to give immediate results and the worshipper is protected from all sort of legal problems and untoward incidents. He is blessed with power and prosperity and gains the ability to strongly influence others. It requires proper initiation by an able teacher (Guru) to perform tantra sadhna og Maa Baglamukhi.

One can seek Maa Baglamukhi's blessings by other means of worship too like chanting mantras, worshipping her image, or the Yantras (mystical diagrams) and by certain rituals and offerings etc.

Bagalamukhi Mantra is chanted using a haldi mala (turmeric beads).The worshipper should start on Thursday and wear yellow clothes during the worship which is done at night. The mantra should be chanted at least 108 times daily for 21 days without a break. The worshipper should remain celibate during these days. The mantra is as follows:

!!Om Hleem Baglamukhi Sarwdushtanam Wacham Mukham Padam
Stambhay Jihwa Kilay Buddhi Vinashay Hleem Om swaha!!

The meaning of the mantra is as follows:
"Oh Goddess, paralyze the speech and feet of all evil people. Pull their tongue and destroy their intellect."

I visited the temple twice in 2013 during a pilgrimage to Chintapurni- Jwalaji-Chamundaji. I wasn't aware of the significance of this temple back then. The temple is situated in a small, secluded village and there is a small hotel in the temple premises where we stayed. There is a small departmental store in the hotel itself. Apart from that, there are a few shops in the temple premises which sell the pictures of the deity and other paraphenalia required for worship. It is advisable to get a prior booking done at the hotel as there are no other hotels or lodging arrangements in the vicinity.

The atmosphere of the temple is quite charged and you can feel the divine presence there. Havans and yagnas are performed day and night there. If you wish, you can get a basic puja done for your family's health and prosperity by one of the pandits there.