User:Maniladevi

Manila Devi
Manila means ecoetic and Devi means goddess. In local language, mani and la are two different words. “Mani” and “la” means who blesses wishes even with a simple worship or calling her name.The temple of Manila Devi is situated in Salt, Almora,Uttrakhand. Manila devi is the goddess of Katyuries. She is a magical goddess, who may do anything for her devotees. The temple was built by katyuri king in thirteen century.

History
The goddess manila temple was built by Katyuri Kings. The temple was very small till 1974. The katyuries came to the salt block in thirteenth century. When they lost their major kingdom in Kumaon and Garhwal, they came to a small state of Manur Desh. The ruler of the Manur Desh were called “Manural” and the place where they lived is called Sainamanur in Uttrakhand. Nowadays “Manural” is changed to “Manral”. The Katyuries first settled at Kot in Sainamanur and some old houses of ancient habitations were till twentieth century but now the houses have fully demolished. Later in 15th century, the Katyuris shifted to Sainamanur village, which is present now also. The place of the ruler was “Kota Bhitar”, it’s like a small palace but it is fully demolished now. When Manural shifted their capital to Sainamanur with ruling the Manur Desh, all their followers settled near Sainamanur. The Goddess Manila temple was built on its existing place and it was very small until 1975 when it was rebuilt by the worshippers. The temple was looked after by Lakhchoras, who are also katyuris. They are also the main priest of the temple. Asht Bali was also performed in the temple in the presence of the Sainamanur Gram Devi. The last Asht Bali was performed by Sainmanuries in 1970 or so. In Asht bali ,the male buffalo was handled by the various devins in the presence of Goddess from Kota Bhitar(Sainmanur). The animals (one male buffalo and seven goats) was sacrificed to Manila Devi. Goats were taken in the temples compound whereas the buffalo was kept outside the temple near the temple gate. Jattra was held at night which is only attended by males. Women could attend the morning procession. In the early morning with the permission of Goddess and with various rituals and mantra the animals were sacrificed while sun was growing / shining. After sacrificing, the buffalo is buried and goats meat will be distributed among devotees as Prasad.

Present
Now, the government of India has prohibited the sacrificing of animals, so it is not practiced. The temple is being rebuilt and renovated by the Manila Devi Mandir trust and hope the goddess will bless her devotees. Now there are two temples of Manila Devi, one is called Malla Manila and other is called Talla Manila. . Talla Manila is the main shrine and a place of Mahishashur Vardhini Maa.

refrences

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 * gdcmanila.org/