About this temple
Chintpurni is the hill shrine of Chhinnamastika Devi near Bharwain in Una district. The Goddess is worshipped as a pindi within a compact stone temple, with banyan trees and associated sacred places around the precinct. Its annual calendar includes two Navratri fairs and a distinct Sawan fair. The name Chintpurni expresses the devotional belief that the Mother relieves worries.
History
The shrine’s foundation tradition centres on Mai Dass, who is said to have sheltered the Goddess’s pindi beneath a thatched structure. The district account connects the old place-name Chhappro with that shelter. Later improvements to the approach are attributed to Diwan Dina Nath of Ranjit Singh’s court. Administration passed through local bodies before the Chintpurni Temple Trust took responsibility on 12 June 1987.
Legends & Religious Traditions
Mai Dass: the district’s English account
Travelling to his in-laws, Mai Dass hears devotional music on the hill and sees a radiant girl with a lion. She reveals herself as Durga and asks him and his descendants to worship her pindi. When he asks how an uninhabited, waterless place can support him, she directs him to water beneath a stone. The account continues that he loses his sight after leaving, returns in repentance, regains it and builds a thatched shelter. These are miracle motifs in the district’s devotional narrative.
Mai Das: the district’s Hindi account
The Hindi page gives a different sequence: a devotee separated from his family rests beneath a banyan tree while travelling to his in-laws, dreams of the divine girl and receives instructions to establish worship. It locates the story in the fourteenth century. A dream and a waking encounter are therefore reported as alternative versions.
Chhinnamastika and the yoginis
The Una Census handbook recounts the Goddess severing her head to satisfy the thirst of Jaya and Vijaya after battle. This explains her Chhinnamastika form through self-giving divine power. It is distinct from accounts assigning Sati’s fallen head to the peetha, and is not an instruction for human conduct.
The ram and the boundary dispute
The district’s English account also preserves a local tale: rival rulers of Siba and Amb seek possession of the shrine. Priests propose a test with sanctified water and a ram’s trembling; the result favours Amb. This is a story of sacred jurisdiction, not documentary proof of a boundary settlement.
Architecture / Physical Features
The district describes a square-based, single-storey stone temple with a central dome and north-facing entrance. The pindi is installed in a white-marble palanquin inside.
Sacred Geography and Natural Setting
The shrine lies on a hill spur about 3 km west of Bharwain. A terraced water tank and a Shiva temple below the hill form part of the wider sacred setting.
Rituals, Worship and Seva
Worship centres on the pindi and the daily bathing, aarti, bhog and shayan services. Mundan is performed near a banyan tree in the precinct.
Festivals and Religious Significance
Mata Da Mela is held in Chet, Sawan and Asanj. Chet and Asanj coincide with Navratri; the Sawan fair takes place during the first ten days of the bright lunar fortnight.
How to Reach
Road approaches connect Chintpurni with Una, Hoshiarpur and Kangra. The Una district account gives approximately 56 km from Una and 48 km from Hoshiarpur.
Nearby Religious Places
The wider Chhinnamastika tradition names Muchkund Mahadev, Shiva Bari, Kaleshwar Mahadev and Narayana Mahadev as protective Shiva shrines around the pilgrimage region.
Entry, Tickets and Booking
The Trust asks devotees to obtain a darshan parchi and remain in the authorised queue. Its Sugam Darshan scheme offers quota-limited access through the Lift Gate from Baba Mai Das Sadan; this is separate from the ordinary queue.
Pilgrim Facilities and Accommodation
The Temple Trust lists free breakfast, lunch and dinner through its langar, toilets, rain shelters, parking and drinking-water facilities. Yatri Bhawan at Bharwain is among its listed accommodation options.
Accessibility and Senior Visitor Guidance
The Trust’s Sugam Darshan scheme includes Lift Gate access and electric-vehicle movement for eligible senior visitors, people with disabilities and people with serious illness, with one attendant per pass. The published scheme is subject to quota and conditions.
Address and Location Details
Mata Shri Chintpurni Devi Ji, Chintpurni, Amb tehsil, Una district, Himachal Pradesh 177110, India.
Official Website and Contact
Temple authority: https://matashrichintpurni.com/ . Office: 01976-255818; enquiry: 8091413172.
Contradictory Accounts and Variations
Incredible India describes the fallen part of Sati as the head and gives a general 4:00 AM–11:00 PM opening window. The Temple Trust instead explains Chhinnamastika through her detached-head form and publishes shayan at 10:00 PM. These are different narrative explanations and conflicting visitor-time statements; the daily ritual programme is reported separately rather than forcing a single unqualified version. The district’s English narrative describes Mai Dass of Ripoh Muchilian seeing the Goddess while awake; its Hindi version describes a dream and an Athoor/Patiala family background. The English account gives his age as eighty, while the Hindi account supplies a fourteenth-century setting. These details are attributed to their respective versions rather than combined into a purported biography.
Verification Notes and Uncertainties
The general tourism page lists a wider 4:00 AM–11:00 PM window, while the temple authority gives a 10:00 PM shayan service. The service schedule is presented without promising continuous entry. Mai Dass’s foundation is a transmitted shrine tradition.