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| Kalkaji Temple, popularly known as Kalkaji Mandir
is a renowned temple dedicated to Kalka Devi or Kali, one of
the incarnations of Goddess Durga. Just a kilometer away from
Nehru Place, Okhla Industrial Estate and the new developed Kalkaji
colony, the temple is thronged by thousands of pilgrims every
year during the festival of Navratri. This is a nine-day festival,
during which a large fair is organized here and the place takes
on a real carnival atmosphere, complete with the vibrant commotion
of hawkers. |
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| Said to be located on a hill, the temple was
built in the middle of 18th century and the oldest portion of
the existing temple dates back to 1764. However, according to
Laura Sykes 'Marathas plundered the fair at Kalka Devi, near
Okhla' during the battle of 1738 with the Mughals in Talkatora.
In the middle of the 19th century, Raja Kedarnath, Peshkar of
Emperor Akbar II made certain changes and additions to the temple.
The stone, which represents the goddess Kali, is housed in a
twelve-sided structure. The whole temple is made up of white
marble and granite tiles and is visited by a few hundred worshippers
every day. In the vicinity of the temple are the Mandir's dharamshalas,
the rest houses for pilgrims, which were built by the donations
of many devotees in the early 20th century. |
| Bathing the Goddess Kali with pure milk is a
major part of the puja ceremony performed here. According to
legend, every day a cow gave all her milk to Goddess Kalkaji.
The owner of the cow was a farmer, who built a temple in her
honour. |
| Visitors should be alert in the area as the
place is very crowded and there can be few anti-social elements
(pickpockets) after your wallet or precious possessions. Offerings
can be purchased just before the entrance of the temple. |
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