Jwalamukhi Temple Travel Map

The famous Jwalamukhi Temple is about 56 km from Dharamsala in the Valley of Beas. Unlike any other temple, this one doesn't have a statue or an image, but a constantly burning blue flame that seems to come from the rocks. Jwalamukhi Temple is a temple of the Goddess of Light. Jwalamukhi is also known as the Flaming Goddess or She of the Flaming Mouth. According to one legend, Lord Shiva conquered the Demon Jalandhara by burying him with mountains. The flames are believed to come from his mouth. The local women who worship the Goddess here believe that she will grant any wish, any desire and many songs are composed in honour of Jwalamukhi Devi and sung on the walk to the temple. First built by the Sikh Raja Kharak Singh, the temple is ornate and heavily embellished with a gilt dome, lots of gold and decorated pinnacles. The doors to the temple are of pure silver and of such beauty that Lord Harding is said to have had a copy made for himself. A canal channels the spring waters which come from a different source around the back of the temple and another local story states that the Emperor Akbar built this canal in an attempt to put out the flames in the temple. When it didn't work, he became an ardent devotee himself. In fact one of the local women's songs has lyrics that describe how Akbar came to the temple and placed his gold crown near the flames. The Goddess turned the gold to copper. Two huge fairs are held at the temple in April and mid October during the Navratries which anyone can attend. This is definitely a temple worth visiting if only for the legend that surrounds it.