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HOME > Mathura > Maha-vidya Devi Temple | |||||||||||||
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Maha-vidya Devi Temple Maha-vidya Devi is the deity of the girl who was born of Mother Yasoda. She is the goddess Durga. It is said that Maha-vidya is the guardian deity of the area to protect Krishna. In the center of the altar is Maha-vidya, and on either side are small deities of Bagalamukhi (Pitambara) and Pratyangira. There are two other deities in the corner of this temple. One is said to be the old deity of Maha-vidya and the other one Bhairava. The present temple here was built in the 18th century. After Lord Krishna was born, Vasudeva carried baby Krishna across the Yamuna and exchanged Him for the girl that was just born of Yasoda. He then returned to the prison house with the girl. When Kamsa heard the eighth child of Devaki was born he came rushing to the prison house, to kill the child. “He forcibly grabbed the newborn child to rebuke his sister and attempted to dash her on the stone mercilessly. This is a graphic example of a cruel brother who could sacrifice all relationships for the sake of personal gratification. But immediately the child slipped out of his hands, went up in the sky and appeared with eight arms as the younger sister of Vishnu. She was decorated with a nice dress and flower garlands and ornaments; in her eight hands she held a bow, lancet, arrows. bell, conchshell, disc, club and shield. “From above, the goddess addressed Kamsa: ‘You rascal, how can you kill me? The child who will kill you is already born before me somewhere within this world. Don’t be so cruel to your poor sister.’ After this appearance, the goddess Durga became known by various names in various parts of the world.” (Krishna Book, Chap. 4) How To Get Here This temple is in north Mathura, about a km north of Krishna Janmasthan. It is on a small hill. It is next to a large water tower, in a residential area. It is a well-known temple.
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