Key Points

The nine-day Navratri festival is celebrated with great devotion across India, and the Jhandewalan Temple witnessed a significant gathering of devotees offering prayers on the occasion.

Meanwhile, on the first day of Shardiya Navratri, September 22, the Tanot Mata Temple located near the India-Pakistan border in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, saw a surge in devotees. This 1,200-year-old Shakti Peeth is renowned for its miraculous powers and historic significance, particularly for its remarkable survival during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars and Operation Sindoor.

The temple, often referred to as the "Bomb Temple," is managed by the Border Security Force (BSF), whose soldiers serve as priests and conduct daily rituals.

BSF Commandant Neeraj Sharma recalled the events of Operation Sindoor while addressing ANI on the first day of Navratri. He said, "During the 1965 and 1971 wars, no bombs exploded here. Even in the recent Operation Sindoor, due to the blessings of Tanot Mata, Pakistani drones and missiles were destroyed in the skies over Jaisalmer."

The Tanot Mata Temple is dedicated to Tanot Mata, an incarnation of Goddess Hinglaj Mata. It has a reputation for being untouched despite heavy bombing during wars. During the 1965 war alone, the Pakistani army dropped over 3,000 bombs around the temple area, with more than 400 bombs landing within the temple complex, yet most failed to detonate.

Recounting the miracle of the Tanot Mata Temple, the priest of the temple remembered the 1965 war. He recounted that during this war, Pakistan dropped three thousand bombs around the temple. Approximately over 400 bombs fell within the temple complex, but most of the bombs failed to explode. Impressed by the miracles of Tanot Mata, then Colonel Shahnawaz Khan presented five silver umbrellas to the temple as a mark of devotion, which remain in the temple today.

"The devotion for Tanot Mata is increasing among soldiers and people. During the 1965 war, the Pakistani army dropped over 400 bombs within the temple complex, but most of the bombs failed to explode. Impressed by the miracles of Tanot Mata, then Colonel Shahnawaz Khan presented five silver umbrellas to the temple as a mark of devotion, which remain in the temple today," the priest told ANI.

During the prayer, other devotees offered oblations during the havan, which was performed during the installation of the Kalash at the Mata Tanot Temple, known nationwide as the Miracle Temple. Following the havan, a large number of devotees participated in the afternoon aarti. The entire temple complex exceeded its capacity during the aarti. Following the aarti, hundreds of devotees also partook of the food offered as prasad at the Mata's Bhandara.

- ANI