Nanda Devi Raj Jat

Royal Pilgrimage

The Popularity

Parvati (Shail Putri), the daughter of Hills and the consort of Lord Shiva, is known as Nanda in Garhwal & Kumaon areas.
The popularity of the Goddess is understandable, as the highest peak of the district has been identified with the name of the
deity, also several Nanda temples are situated at all the prominent places in Garhwal and Kumaon like Nauti, Chandpur,
Kurur, Devrada, Kulsari, Nandkesri, Lohajang, Shila Samudra, Nandakot Vaidini, Srinagar, Sink, Devikhet, Nandprayag,
Gopeshwar, Helang, Lata Niti and Badrinath. Similarly the Kumaon region include Nanda Devi temples located at Nainital,
Almora, Baijnath, Shuwbhgash, Munsiyari, Doonagiri, Jageshwar, Bageshwar and Ranikhet.

Nanda in History

The genesis of Nanda Devi is not very clear. Folk lyrics suggest that Nanda was a princess of the Chanda dynasty of Almora.
Some people associate the Goddess with YogMaya, the daughter of Nanda, who replaced the eighth issub of Vasudev (father of
Krishna) and who escaped from the hands of her assailant, Kansa and forewarned him of his impending death at the hands
of Lord Krishna. There is no mention of Nanda in the Puranas or other scriptures. However, certain later inscriptions mention
a Goddess with names similar to Nanda. The Goddess finds mention in Sanskrit literature. Some very old statues found in

Mathura show one Goddess as Eknansha. Accordingly, some people believe that the same Goddess was subsequently regarded
as Nanda. Naini (of Nainital) and Naina (of Himachal Pradesh) also appear to be variants of the same Goddess. There are
ancient temples of the Goddess at about twenty places all over Garhwal. Similar temples are found in Almora region also.

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