Uttarakhand is home to several mythical and proven Shaktipeeths. ‘Dronagiri Vaishnavi Shaktipeeth’ is one of them. Dunagiri is the second Vaishno Shaktipeeth in Kumaon, Uttarakhand after Vaishno Devi. Dunagiri Temple is 15 km ahead of the Dwarahat region of the Almora district. This temple is the center of immense faith and reverence.
There is a tale about the construction of the temple. In ‘Tretayuga,’ when Lakshmana got injured in his fight against Meghnath, Sushen Veda asked Hanuman Ji to bring Sanjeevani herb from a mountain named Dronachal. Upon reaching the place, Hanuman Ji could not identify the Sanjeevani herb. Thus, he decided to carry the entire mountain along with him. While he was lifting the mountain, a small piece of it broke and fell. The temple of Dunagiri is built at that very spot.
According to ET Edkinshan’s article in the ‘Himalayan Gazetteer,’ evidence of the temple’s existence is found in inscriptions from 1181 AD. It was named Dronagiri, as the Pandavas’ Guru Dronacharya did penance on this mountain. Dunagiri has been identified as Maya-Maheshwari or Prakriti-Purusha and Durga Kalika bythe Puranas, Upanishads, and historians have identified.
According to Devi Purana, before the Pandavas won the battle of Mahabharata. Draupadi used to worship Dunagiri as Durga during their exile to protect her chastity. Dunagiri has been displayed in the form of Mahamaya, Haripriya, Durgain the Manaskhand Dronadrimahatmya of the ‘Skanda Purana,’. These names are in addition to the unique adjectives.
One needs to climb about 500 steps to visit this grand temple. Worship of the naturally emerged ‘Pindiya Mata’ in the form of Bhagwati is carried out here. The eternal flame is always burning in the temple. According to popular beliefs, many wishes are fulfilled only by the sight of this eternal flame.
Dunagiri Temple Uttarakhand is situated in the middle of an outgrowth of trees. This includes Bas, Deodar, Acacia, and Surai. Various kinds of medicinal and life-saving herbs are also found in this area. One witnesses a grand view of the Himalayan mountains from the temple.