What is the sthala katha — the legend — of Shakumbhari Devi Temple?

High medieval · Hindu · India

Shakumbhari Devi Temple

सिद्धपीठ श्री शाकुंभरी देवी मंदिर

Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh · 30.2568°, 77.7426°

Shakumbhari, a form of ParvatiUndetermined—Shakti Peethadisputed

Contested attributions

This site is counted in the lists below by some sources and not others. We list the claim and the disagreement rather than silently picking a side.

Shakti Peetha · no source located — The Wikipedia article on Siddhpeeth Shri Shakumbhari Devi, Saharanpur makes no Shakta pitha claim beyond the word 'Siddhpeeth' in the temple's own name, the shrine is absent from Wikipedia's combined Shakta pithas table, and a separate major Shakambhari shrine near Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan carries the same goddess name (as of 2026). source

Sacred since

1000 CE

first attestation / structure

Standing structure

dating unrecorded

Undetermined

History & significance

A Siddhpeeth in the Shivalik foothills of Behat tehsil, Saharanpur district, dedicated to the goddess of vegetation and nourishment. It is one of the larger pilgrimage centres of northern Uttar Pradesh.

Sthala katha — the legend

When the demon Durgamasura brought a hundred-year famine, Adi Shakti appeared as Shakumbhari, whose tears fell as rain and who fed the world with food produced by her own power.

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