Tara Devi Temple, Shoghi, Himachal Pradesh

Situated 1851 meters above sea level, Tara Devi temple is situated on the Tara Devi Mountain between Shoghi and Shimla.

The location of the temple on the Hill top makes it appear that the goddess seems to keep everyone  under the protective gaze ,showering  innumerable  blessings on her worshippers From here one can get a panoramic view of Shimla and snow-clad Himalayan range on one side, with the other side revealing the plains at a far distance.

“ Ma Bhagwati Tara Devi” temple is located on Tarav Parvat in the western side of shimla Town  about 15 Km from Shimla situated by the side of Kalka- Shimla National Highway near Shoghi.  The road meandering uphill through the sweet smelling  pine forests and lush green meadows with the cool gentle  breeze touching one softly infusing a freshness  and vigor  in the devotees, pilgrims and tourists visiting this holy shrine.  The location of the temple on the Hill top makes it appear that the goddess Ma Tara  Devi seems to keep everyone  under the protective gaze ,showering  innumerable  blessings on her worshippers.  The picturesque view from the temple is indeed breath taking and captivating with the superb  panorama of the lofty  and majestic  forested mountains around, which offers a calm peaceful and tranquil countryside,  a site that has a soothing and rejuvenating effect, being away from the din, pollution and the taxing  effect of a fast urban life style. The history of this temple dates back to about 250 years  when this temple was built here.  There is a belief that the goddess Tara was brought  to Himachal Pradesh all the way from the eastern state  of Bengal .  Hundreds of years ago a king from the Sen Dynasty  visited this area.  This king had brought  his family deity  in the form of a small gold Idol encased in a  locket  which he always wore around his upper arm.  For many years the idol remained encased   but in the 96th generation of sen dynasty , Raja Bhupendra Sen one day had an unusual  experience while  hunting in the  dense forest  of Juggar , near by the present  temple, where he had a vision  of his holy family deity goddess  :”Ma Tara” along with her Dwarpal  Bhairav and Hanuman Ji , who expressed her keen desire to be unveiled before the  people. The Raja immediately  donated 50 bighas of land on the name  of  Ma Tara and got constructed a temple there, in which a wooden idol of the  Goddess was installed  in accordance  with Vaishnav  traditions . Later on Raja Balbir Sen of the same dynasty  had a dream in which  the Goddess expressed  her desire to be installed  on the hill top of Tarav Parvat.  The Raja on the advise of one of his pandits  named Bhawani Dutt got a beautiful Idol  prepared out of ‘Ashtadhatu’ from one Gusanwu artisan  at his capital Junga and carried  it over an  Elephant  named ‘Shankar’ and had it  installed in the Vikrami  era, 1825 on the Hill Top of Tarav Parvat , where it stands  in all majesty and  grandeur even today.  The Sen dynasty  of the erstwhile  Keonthal State  till date is  carrying on with  the age old tradition  of worshipping their  family deity   Ma Tara on Ashtami during Shardiya Navratras each year when a fair is also held in the same day in the temple complex.  The wrestling  is an age old tradition of this fair every year.

The Tara Devi Temple is located at a distance of 11 km from Shimla on the Shimla – Kalka National Highway. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Tara and stands on Tara Devi hilltop between Shimla and Shoghi and is a very popular visiting spot for tourists and devotees.

The temple was built over 250 years ago and holds a great spiritual value for devotees. There is a belief that Goddess Tara was brought to Himachal Pradesh all the way from Bengal. It is believed that a king from the Sen Dynasty had a locket which contained a small gold idol of his family deity, Goddess Tara. He visited this area over a hundred years ago wearing the locket tied around his upper arm. The idol remained encompassed and passed on through the many generation of the Sen Dynasty. But during the 96th generation dynasty, King Bhupendra Sen had an unusual vision near the current location of the temple, while he had been hunting, of his family deity Tara Devi along with her Dwarpal Bhairav and Hanuman Ji, expressing the need to be unveiled before the people, to bless and be prayed to. He, at once donated around 10 acres of land and had a temple constructed there to honor “Ma Tara” and her wishes. A wooden idol of the goddess was installed and later on another king from the same dynasty, Raja Balbir Sen had another vision of the deity expressing her desire to be installed on the Tarav Parvat, and to honor her wishes he had another idol of Tara Devi made of Ashtadhatu, in his capital of Junga and carried it on an elephant “Shankar” to the hill top and had it installed in the 1825.

The main attraction of the temple is it seclusion from the normal noise and pollution, traffic of the cities and towns. The Tara Devi Temple has tranquility and a sense of peace and relaxation in its atmosphere because of how its located away from everything, standing alone and serene. There are big precessions and celebration held at the temple during the Navaratras and Ashtami.

To one side of the Temple you can see the beautifully snow-capped Himalayas and the town of Shimla while on the other side you can see the tremendously green and beautiful plains that spread out vastly between the mountains.

There are two ways to get to the temple. You can both walk the 4 km distance from the national highway and enjoy the peaceful view and the scenery of the mountains while walking and for those of you not used to walking or have difficulty, you can drive from Shoghi, which is 6 kms from the temple. There are various taxis and transportation available from here and you can go up to as close as 200 meters near the temple, after which it’s a short walk to the Tara Devi Temple.