Kunjapuri Devi Temple is situated at Narendra Nagar in Tehri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand.
The History of Kunjapuri Devi Temple as told by Dhirendra – The priest as follows:
Out of 51 Shaktipeeth of Goddess Sati within Uttarakhand, Kunjapuri Devi is one of the Shaktipeeth. This is the location where Goddess’s breast has fallen. In Sanskrit, language breast is called ‘Kuchcha’ i.e., why the temple is named Kuchcha Devi Mandir. Locals call it – Kunjapuri Devi.
When Devtaas won the battle with demons they decided to declare one leader among themselves. Daksha was selected unanimously but one person – Lord Shiva was not happy.
Because Daksha is angry by nature Lord Shiva said – Vishnu should be the best choice but in the end, Daksha was declared the leader. This created a difference between Daksha and Lord Shiva.
Daksha once performed Yagya and invited all devatas. Lord Shiva was not invited. As Sati was the daughter of Daksha and wife of Lord Shiva she got to know about the said Yagya and wished to visit but Lord Shiva was not willing to visit as he was not invited.
Sati said – to visit father’s house one shouldn’t need an invitation. And she visited the Yagya site.
As there was no seating arrangement for Lord Shiva, she argued with her father about the same. Daksh said your husband is not the right person to be invited. Sati felt insulted and jumped into the pyre. When Lord Shiva heard about her death, he became furious. He sent Veerbhadra to the place where Daksha was performing Yagya. Veerbhadra destroyed the Yagya location and killed Daksha. After this Lord Shiva was very upset. He carries Sati’s body in his arms roaming all over the world. Lord Vishnu felt that this would cause the destruction of the world very soon. He sent Sudarshan Chakra to cut the body into pieces. Various body parts then fell at different locations on earth and one such location is Kuchcha Devi also known as Kunja Devi Mandir.
During Navratri, there are huge devotees rush at this location. The temple is situated on top of the hill which is picturesque. One should visit if visiting Rishikesh (29 km).