1 Shakti Peetham of Pakistan

October 1, 2005

SHAKTI PEETHAM IN PAKISTAN

SHRI HINGLAJ MATA

(In Form of Durga )

(*Hingul=Sindhoor, hence the name)

http://www.hinglajmata.com/

http://www.hinglajmatamandir.com/

1.Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman visted this peeth during Vanvas

2.It situated at a distance of 120 km north east of Karachi.

The area actually is a part of Bilochistan province of Pakistan.

Hingol river falls on its way in Makran hills.

3.Brahmkshatriyas on their creature from Kshatriyas

were told by Rishi Dadhichi that Hinglaj Devi would be

their Kuldevi and they should worship the Goddess Hinglaj

for all times to come.

4.After creation of Pakistan, the govt. had declared

it a prohibited area for Hindu residents of India

but devotees residing in Pakistan and other foreign

countries still take holy pilgrimage to the Peeth

starting from Shri Swaminarayan Mandir complex

in Karachi during Navratras in the month of April. Like

Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, the Hinglaj Yatra

is also considered difficult-one but those who perform it,

are blessed heavily by the Mata.

5. This Hindu past was kept alive until partition (1947 ) by annualpilgrimage to Hinglaj on the Makran coast. This pilgrimage was a part ofthe initiation of the

Kanphat yogis, distinguished by the splitting oftheir ears ( ka-na pha-ta ) to accomodate their huge wooden ear-rings [Ed.Note: The annual pilgrimage of these jogis still takes place. The jogis,unlike urbanites, almost all stayed in Sindh and their numbers have only

increased over time.]

6.The Hindu past has faded and to an extent been erased

from fundamentalist Pakistan's history. It should however

be remembered that it was these yogis of the past, the

Bhakt-Kavis singing out the fragrance of Yoga,Bhakti

and Vedanta that strongly influenced the Sufis of Sindh

leading to a tolerance and assimilation of such Indian ideas

into Sufi Islam. As Prof. L H.Ajwani remarks in his book History

of Sindhi literature: " Out of the mingling of Iranian type of Sufism

with Indian Vedantism-Bhakti was evolved that peculiar mysticism

which is the bedrock of Sindhi literature. "

7.Sad to say, after partition most of Pakistan's and with