Bahuchara Mata

Bahuchara Mata is a Hindu goddess.

Depiction and symbols

Bahuchara Mata is shown as a woman who carries a sword on her top right, a text of scriptures on her top left, the abhay hasta mudra ("showering of blessings") on her bottom right, and a trident on her bottom left. She is seated on a rooster, which symbolises innocence.

One of the theory says that she is one of the goddesses in Sri Chakra. The real symbol of her vehicle is kurkut which means the serpent which has two mouths. Bahucharaji is seated on the low end and the other end goes to Sahasrara, which means that Bahucharaji is the goddess starting the awakening of kundalini which eventually leads the liberation or moksha.^[1]

Temple

Bahucharaji Temple is located in Bahucharaji town in Mehsana district of Gujarat, India. It is 110 km from Ahmedabad and 35 km west of Mahesana. The original temple complex was built in 1783 CE (AD). The temple is nicely decorated with stone carvings. Every year about 1.5 million pilgrims visit this temple.^[2] Toda Mata (Bahuchara Mata) is located in Sankhalpur. The origin of Bahuchra Mata is situated at Varakhdiwala temple in Bahuchraji. Because Bhakta Vallabha Dhola wrote in his Aanand no Garbo the original place of Bahuchra Mata is situated at between Sankhalpur and Dedana village. The Toda Mata temple in Sankhalpur is 2 kilometers far from Bahuchraji (Bahuchraji).

See also

• LGBT themes in Hindu mythology

Notes

References

• Aggleton, Peter. Culture, Society and Sexuality: A Reader, Taylor & Francis 2007, p. 240 ISBN 041540455X
• Abbott, Elizabeth. A History of Celibacy, James Clarke & Co. 2001, pp. 329–330 ISBN 0718830067
• Ellingson, Stephen. Religion and Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective, Routledge 2002 ISBN 041594127X
• Young, Serenity. Courtesans and Tantric Consorts, Routledge 2004, p. 111 ISBN 0415914833

External links

• Bahucharaji Mata Temple (Becharaji, Mehsana)
• Bahucharaji Mataji Temple (Derdi)