At The Kaila Devi Temple
Mahatama Kedargiri established the idols of Kaila Devi in the lap of Aravali mountain range on the banks of Kalisil river, in the Kaila village, in the year 1114 AD. Kalisil is a tributary of Banas river. When Mahatama Kedargiri was praying to the Goddess to stay in Kaila village as its protectress she gave him darshan in her child image & later on she took on the image of destroyer of evil-hence two idols are established in the ‘Garbh grah’. It is believed that the She is a benevolent Goddess and does not punish the ‘pujaris’ or devotees if for some reason an unintentional slight occurs. The idols are made from a mixture of numerous metals. They are always wearing their costumes with only their faces visible. Kaila Devi is the one of the ‘roops’ of Goddess Mahalaxshmi. Kal Bhairav & Shri Ganesh are ‘Languria’ or ‘adisevak’ of Kaila Mata. Their idols are right in front of the temple of Kaila Devi. The devotees try to gain favour with the ‘Languria’ by singing ‘bhajans’ in his praise in the belief that his worship is a short cut to Kaila Mata blessing them sooner. Devotees from all parts of India, from all walks of life, throng the Kaila Devi temple in the hope that she will bless them and not see them return empty handed. And the generosity of the Goddess is such that she fulfills all their wishes and the devotees return in her presence time & again to express their gratitude.
A temple also houses the Idol of, Bohra ji, a devotee of Kaila Mata.
In 1116 AD the then ruler, Maharaj Mukunddas ,a Khichi rajput, built a temple around the shrine.
A meena tribal from the village of Peetupura worshiped Kaila Devi, who gave him a boon that from then on she would manifest herself in his family members and they would be known as ‘Gothias’.
In 1153 Raghunathdas Khichi, after making additions to the then temple building, established the idol of Chamunda Devi also.
Karauli was established in 1405 AD by the then Yaduvanshi ruler Arjun Dev on the banks of Bhadrawati river some 25 kms from Kaila Devi. Since then the rulers of Karulai have taken it upon themselves to look after the day to day affairs of the Kaila Devi temple as the Goddess is also their ‘Kuldevi’.
At The Kaila Devi Temple
Now a days a Kaila Devi Temple Trust looks after the affairs of the Temple and organizes the yearly Melas & does various other charity works like running a Non Government Organization (NGO) which runs a School for poor children & A Higher Secondary boarding school for girls. It also runs a handicraft workshop for the development of local women. Lots of small dams (Water Conservation projects) have been made, tree plantation has been done in the Kailadevi National Park which is a part of the project tiger and it’s a buffer zone to Ranthambore National park. The NGO is also running 200 bed hospital. The NGO also cleans the Kalisil river of pollutants periodically as the devotees have a bath here before going to the Kaila Devi Temple for darshan.
When Emperor Akbar could not annex the Daulatabad Fort he asked for help from the Karauli Maharaj Chandrasen, whose son Prince Gopaldas, with Kaila Devi’s blessings, went to war with Akbar and the Fort was won.
Maharaj Jai Singh ji added a dome to the temple and had it gilded with gold. He had a stepwell built for storage of drinking water.
Maharaj Bhawarpal had the Kalisil dam built. He also had a dharamshala built besides having facilitated the digging of the Durgasagar well, construction of shops & a road bordered by trees to the temple.
Timing for Darshan
Mangla Darshan 4 am to 4.30 am
Dhoop Arti 5.30-6.00 am in summers
6.00-7.30 am in winters
Shringar 8.00 am
Raj Bhog 11.15 am
Vishram Noon to 1.00 pm
Darshan 1.00-800 pm
7.20 pm is evening aarti
The goddess is offered Halva as Bhog. As the goddess is satvik & satoguni She is not offered liquor or meat.
Some Interesting facts about Kaila Devi
The green glass ‘Dhani’ bangles are worn by girls and married women alike. Young girls wear them for getting a suitable husband & the married women wear them for the long life of their husbands & to wish them well. Every year these bangles are sold in tens of thousands of numbers.
It is a shaktipeeth.
Nearby Places to visit
Karauli 25kms
Places of interest:
Bhanwar Vilas Palace & The City Palace of Karauli & the stepwell in the City Palace where the Royalty used to play Holi.
Madanmohan ji Temple.
According to legend it is very auspicious to have darshan at Madanmohanji Temple, Govinddevji & Gopinathji Temple in Jaipur in a single day.
Anjanimata temple on Pachna dam.
Nearest Railway Station to Karauli is Bharatpur- 35km.
Nearest Airport to Karauli is Jaipur- 180 kms
RSRTC plies roadways busses in countless numbers from all major towns & cities of Rajasthan to ferry devotees to Kaila Devi.
The Kailadevi National Park
Kedargiri Caves are 3 km away on the Kaila Devi-Karanpur road.
AMAR KUNJ YATRI NIWAS,(about 250 mts from the Kaila Devi Temple)
A nice place to stay with AC rooms with cable TV & attached bathrooms & dining hall.
Phone:07464-228281, 093525-62262,097996-95126
This Jaipur! 