Shiwalik Goddesses

Local goddesses from the Shiwalik hills
separating the Himalayas from the
northern Indian plain. Some have little
importance beyond the borders of their
particular villages, whereas others have
become important regional deities. As
with all the goddesses of India, the
Shiwalik goddesses are considered to be
manifestations of the same feminine
divine energy—the Goddess. As one
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Shiwalik Goddesses
sign of this identity, many of these sites
are claimed to be Shakti Pithas—places
where a part of the dismembered goddess Sati fell to earth and took form as a
different goddess. Shiwalik goddesses
are also thought of as relatives. Kathleen
Erndl mentions seven goddesses, known
as the Seven Sisters: Vaishno Devi,
Jwalamukhi, Vajreshvari Devi, Chintapurni, Naina Devi, Chamunda, and
Mansa Devi. Modern Hindi language
sources list nine—the seven just mentioned plus Shakumbhari Devi and
Kalika Devi. This group of nine is scattered in three different Indian states
along the Shiwalik Range: Seven are in
Himachal Pradesh, Vaishno Devi is in
Jammu and Kashmir, and Shakumbhari
Devi is in Uttar Pradesh. The pantheon
here is fairly flexible, and the goddesses
mentioned in these lists will probably
vary over time, partly reflecting the success or failure to establish the holiness
of these sites. For further information on
the Shiwalik goddesses and worship of
the Mother Goddess in northwestern
India, see Kathleen Erndl, Victory To The
Mother, 1993. See also pitha.