Chandrabadni Devi Temple

01The yantra under the cloth

Garhwal’s tradition says that the torso of Sati fell on Chandrakoot. In place of a murti the Devi is a Shri Yantra cut on a flat stone, and the rule of the temple is that no one looks on it directly; when the cloth is changed once a year the priest is blindfolded. The temple says Adi Shankaracharya came here and set up the worship in its present form. Old iron tridents and bells, offered over centuries, lie heaped around the shrine. With Surkanda and Kunjapuri it completes the three Devi seats of Tehri.

02Fairs of Chaitra and Ashwin

The Navratri fairs draw villages from all over the Alaknanda and Bhilangna valleys, and couples come after their weddings for the Devi’s blessing. The road now reaches Jamnikhal, below the peak; the last kilometre is a stepped path. From the top the view runs over the confluence country of Devprayag to the snows of the Kedar range. Bells offered by families whose prayers were answered hang in rows along the last flight of steps.