01From Bengal to the hills
The rulers of Keonthal, whose small state once took in much of the land on which Shimla was built, trace their line to the Sen kings of Bengal. Tara was their family Devi. The temple’s account says that a Sen raja first kept her in his palace at Junga and that, after a dream, a shrine was raised for her on the top of the hill, where she could see the whole of the kingdom. The present murti is set in a carved wooden temple; a smaller older image is kept with it. Tara is worshipped in the Tantras as the saviour, tarini, and the hill takes its name from her.
02Ashtami on the hill
The big days are the Ashtami of both Navratris, when families from Shimla walk or drive up through the deodar forest and the bhandara runs all day. A Shiva shrine stands a little below. From the top on a clear morning the snow line of the Dhauladhar and the Kinnaur ranges shows in the north. The hill is also a forest reserve, and monkeys wait at every bend for the prasad.
About 11 km from Shimla on the Kalka road; turn up from Shoghi or Tara Devi station on the toy train. The last stretch to the top is a steep road or a walk.
