Jwala Ji

Jwala Ji

Sanskrit (above) and Persian (below) inscriptions from the Ateshgah (fire temple) of Baku, Azerbaijan. The Sanskrit inscription is a religious Hindu invocation in old Devanagari script while the Persian inscription is a couplet. The Sanskrit invocation begins with: I salute Lord Ganesh (श्री गणेशाय नमः), a standard beginning of most Hindu prayers. The second line venerates the holy fire Jwala Ji (जवालाजी). The inscription is dated to Vikram Samvat 1802 (संवत १८०२, i.e. 1745 CE). Unlike the several Sanskrit (written in Devanagari) and Punjabi (written in Gurmukhi) inscriptions in the temple, the Persian quatrain below is the sole Persian one and, though ungrammatical, also refers to the fire (آتش) and dates it to Hijri 1158 (١١٥٨, i.e. again 1745 CE).]]

Jwala Ji (Pahari: जवाला जी, Punjabi: ਜਵਾਲਾ ਜੀ, Hindi: ज्वाला जी, Urdu: جوالا جی) is a Hindu Goddess. Alternative spelling and names for Jwala Ji include Jawala Ji, Jwala Devi and Jwalamukhi Ji. The physical manifestation of Jwala Ji is always a set of eternal flames, and the term Jwala means flame in Sanskrit (cognates: proto-Indo-European guelh, English: glow, Lithuanian: zvilti) and Ji is an honorific used in the Indian subcontinent.

Jwalaji/jawalaji (flame) or Jwala Mukhi (flame mouth) is probably the most ancient temple discussed here besides Vaishno Devi. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata and other scriptures. There is a natural cave where eternal flames continue to burn. Some say there are nine flames for the nine Durgas ... Several schools of Buddhism also share the symbolism of a seven-forked sacred flame.

The best known Jwala Ji shrine is located in the lower Himalayas in Jawalamukhi town of the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh state of India, about 55 kilometers from the larger town of Dharamsala. The temple style is typical of Jwala Ji shrines, four cornered, with a small dome on the top and a square central pit of hollowed stone inside where the main flame burns endlessly. An annual fair is held in the environs of the temple every July/August months during Navratras.

The temple had an associated library of ancient Hindu texts, many of which were translated from Sanskrit into Persian at the orders of Firuz Shah Tughlaq with Legendry Om Parkash and Famous Sandeep Kaushalwhen the Delhi Sultanate overran the Kangra area. According to the legend, when Sati's body was divided into 51 parts, Sati Mata's tongue fell here. The flames/ Jyotis are the representation of the same. Some say that Sati's clothes fell here. When they fell they were on fire. The fire hasn't blew off.