Durgiana Temple, Amritsar

01Sarovar and silver doors

A Devi shrine and its tank were here long before the present building; the Amritsar district gazetteer of 1893 speaks of the Durgiana sarovar and the Devi-dwara round it. In 1921 the temple was rebuilt under the leadership of Guru Harsai Mal Kapoor, on the plan of the Harmandir: a square shrine with a gilded dome at the centre of the water, joined to the bank by a bridge. Murtis of Lakshmi Narayan stand in the sanctum with Durga Mata. The carved silver panels of the doors gave it its other name, the Silver Temple.

02Bada Hanuman and the Langur Mela

In the same compound stands the Bada Hanuman temple, where Hanuman is seen seated. The local katha says that when Shri Rama’s Ashwamedha horse wandered here, the boys Lava and Kusha caught it and bound Hanuman to a tree on this spot. In both Navratris, families whose prayers for a son were answered dress the boys as langurs, in red and silver with tinsel and bells, and bring them to bow here for ten days; the children dance through the streets of Amritsar to drums. Close by are temples of Sita Mata and of Shiva.

The life of this place