Ambaji Temple

The legend of Ambaji Temple dates back to eons ago, when Goddess Sati, the divine consort of Lord Shiva, burnt her body with the fire of yoga at her father Daksha’s grand sacrifice. Enraged and deeply distressed with the death of his beloved wife, Shiva destroyed the sacrifice of Daksha and began the Tandava dance of destruction. He hung the corpse of Sati on his shoulder and started roaming about in a state of sorrow. Only when Lord Vishnu let off his divine discus to cut off the body of Sati, Lord Shiva let go of his destructive temper. Consequently, the corpse of Sati got cut into numerous pieces, and, as per the Tantric texts, her heart fell on the Arasuri Hill, located on the Aravalli Mountain Range, where the namesake temple stands today. It is believed that the Goddess Arasuri is being worshipped since the Pre-Vedic Era in the shrine.

Shrine with no idol
The temple of Ambaji is unique for the reason that it has no idol of the Goddess in the sanctum sanctorum. Instead, a very holy Shri Yantra, which is an aspect of the Great Goddess, is installed in the inner chambers. It is not visible to the normal eye, nor it can be photographed, and its worship is only allowed after bandaging the eyes.
The real seat of Ambaji is atop the Gabbar Hill. Every full moon day (poornima), a large number of devotees throng the temple to offer worship to the goddess and attend the amazing fair that is held outside the temple. Ambaji Temple also has a special spot in the heart of Gujratis settled abroad.
The temple is made of white marble with gold cones. There is a main door to enter and another small door to the side. No other door is present in the temple due to the divine command given by the presiding deity not to construct any third door. An open square called Chachar Chowk is located close to the main shrine which is meant for performing ceremonial sacrifices known as ‘havans.’ The sanctorum of the temple has been beautified with silver-plated doors. Inside the chamber is a gokh, or niche, fixed in the wall on which the sacred geometrical object, Shri Yantra has been put up for offering worship. The absence of idol inside the temple hints towards the fact that it dates back to the time when idol worship was not prevalent in ancient India. Yet, the temple priests deck-up the upper region of the gokh so as to make it look like an image of a deity is looked from a distance.

Pilgrims are supposed to look through the temple, with their back facing the goddess, at another shrine situated on Gabbar, which is believed to be the real home of the Goddess. A short distance from Ambaji Temple is a wide rectangular kunda known as Mansarovar. A dip in the holy kunda is considered sanctifying by the devotees.

Navratri celebrations at Ambaji Temple
At the time of Navratri, grand celebrations are held to honour Ambaji. Garba and other folk dances are performed by the devout Gujaratis in the temple premises. During the holy nine nights, the Nayak and Bhojok communities also enact the Bhavai theatre.
There are six more temples close to the temple of Ambaji. The shrine of Varahi Mata, Ambikeshwar Mahadev temple, and Ganapati temple are in Chachar Chowk, Open Square and near the temple, respectively. On the other hand, the temple of Khodiyar Mata, Ajaya Mata and Hanumanji can be found in the village itself.

Ambaji Temple Timings
Ambaji temple is open for darshan all seven days of the week. The visiting hours are – 07:00 AM to 11:30 AM, 12:30 PM to 04:30 PM and 06:30 PM to 09:00 PM.

Ambaji Temple Address
Ambaji Temple is located in the town of Ambaji in Banaskantha district in the state of Gujarat, India.
Ambaji Temple nearest Railway Station
The railway station closest to the town of Ambaji is at Abu Road which is only 20 kilometre away. Taxis and other modes of public transport are available from the railhead. The railway station is connected to all the major Indian cities and the rest of Gujrat.