Chakreshvari

Chakreshvari
Goddess Chakeshvari, c. 10th century, Mathura Museum.

In Jain cosmology, Chakeshvari or Apraticakra is the guardian goddess or Yakshini (attendant deity) of Rishabha, the first Tirthankara. She is the tutelary deity of the Sarawagi Jain community.

The color of the goddess is golden. Her Vehicle is the Garuda. She has eight arms. She is shown with a chakra in one of her hands.

In Punjab, at village Attewali there is a famous temple of Goddess Chakreshvari.

Mata Shri Chakreshwari Devi Jain Tirth

Village Attewal via Manupur, Sirhind-Chandigarh Road, Sirhind. District: Fatehgarh Sahib (Punjab) India

Tirth Phone No.: (1763) 232246, 290091, Website: www.matachakreshwaridevi.com

This ancient temple is believed to be around 1000 years old and is situated in village Attewali in Sirhind town on Sirhind-Chandigarh Road. The legend has that during the times of Raja Prithvi Raj Chauhan, a large number of pilgrims from Rajasthan were going in bullock carts to the ancient Jain Temple of Kangra (H. P.) (still present Kangra Fort) to seek the blessings of Lord Aadinath. The pilgrims had also brought an idol of Mata Chakreshwari Devi, an ardent worshipper (known as Adishthayak Devi or Shasan Devi of Lord Aadinath) of Lord Aadinath. On their way, the caravan halted for the night at Sirhind, the present site of this temple.

Next morning when the caravan was all set to move, the Rath (Chariot) carrying the idol of Mata Shri Chakreshwari Devi did not move despite of the best efforts of the pilgrims. The devotees were at a loss to know the reason and were perplexed. Then all of a sudden, there was flood of light inside the paalki carrying the idol and there was an aakashvani “Let this be my place of Abode”. The pilgrims said `Mother, this is all sandy area, there is no water, around here, we had a miserable night yesterday”. The voice replied, “A few yards towards north of this place dig the land and you will get water”. To the astonishment of pilgrims, they just dug a few feet and a fountain of water started flowing. The pilgrims were very much pleased and they installed the idol of Mata Chakreshwari Devi at this place and built a beautiful temple there. The pilgrims also settled here. The place where a fountain of water had erupted has been developed into a small well known as amrit-kund. Even today, the water of this tank is held sacred by the devotees and they carry home to preserve the same.