Like with most old Shrines, it is not possible to ascertain
when exactly the pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine started. A geological
study of the Holy Cave has indicated its age to be nearly a million
years. Vedic literature gives no reference to the worship of any female
deity, although the mountain Trikuta does find its mention in Rigveda,
the oldest of the four Vedas The practice of worshipping Shakti, largely
started in the Puranic period.
The first mention of the Mother Goddess is in the epic Mahabharat. When
the armies of Pandavs and Kaurvas were arrayed in the battlefield of
Kurukshetra, Arjun, the chief warrior of Pandavs upon advice of Sri
Krishna; meditated upon the Mother Goddess and sought Her blessings for
victory. This is when Arjun addresses the Mother Goddess as ‘Jambookatak
Chityaishu Nityam Sannihitalaye’, which means ‘you who always dwell in
the temple on the slope of the mountain in Jamboo’ (probably referring
to the present day Jammu).
It is also generally believed that the Pandavs were the first to build
the temples at Kol Kandoli and Bhawan in reverence and gratitude for the
Mother Goddess. On a mountain, just adjacent to the Trikuta Mountain
and overlooking the Holy Cave are five stone structures, which are
believed to be the rock symbols of the five Pandavs.
Perhaps the oldest reference of the visit of a historical figure to the
Holy Cave is that of Guru Gobind Singh who is said to have gone there
via Purmandal. The old foot track to the Holy Cave passed through this
well-known pilgrimage centre.
Some traditions believe this Shrine to be the holiest of all
Shaktipeeths (a place where the Mother Goddess, the Eternal Energy has
Her abode) since the skull of Mata Sati fell here. Others believe that
her right arm had fallen here. But some scriptures do not agree with it.
They do agree that at a place called Gandarbal in Kashmir, the right
arm of Sati had fallen. Nevertheless, in the Holy Cave of Shri Mata
Vaishno Deviji, one does find stone remains of a human hand, popularly
known as Varad Hast (the hand that grants boons and blessings).
