Shri Kalkaji Mandir is a well-known shrine. It is also among some of the most ancient temples of India. Kalkaji Temple is also considered one of the oldest and pristine prehistoric temples of India. Kalkaji Temple lies in the capital of India, at Delhi near Okhla Industrial Area. It is in front of the famous Lotus Temple. The name of this temple has also lend itself to close by area of Kalkaji, which is opposite to Nehru Place which is a business centre and is about a KM far from the Kalka Ji Temple, it is located on a hill in the East direction of Kailash region, which is near the Iskon temple, which lies there from 3rd century BC. This beautiful shrine is also known by the name of Manokamna Siddha Peeth and every year crores of people visit this shrine.

As per the legend, the temple was built in 1764 A.D. Later, in the mid of 19th century, Raja Kadarnath, one of the officer of Emperor Akbar second made few changes in the temple. Again in the early 20th century, with donations given by devotees, this temple was rebuilt and the same structure is present till today.

The modern structure of this temple is 8 sided. It is completely made up of limestone and black pumicle pebbles. The use of black stone is a symbol of Goddess Kali. While visitors pay a visit to the temple all round the year, the peak point of celebration is during Navratras. This festival celebrates the festival of all goddesses of India. Navratras are celebrated for nine days and during this festival in the premises of temple, a huge fair is organized by the devotees every year.

History

Kalka Ji temple is the oldest temple among all the ancient temples of India. It is the holy shrine where a person gets the blessings of Goddess Kalka. It is said that millions of years ago the people of village which was next to the present location of the temple were troubled by two giant brothers. They use to bother the sadhus and due to their terror sadhus were obligated to take their grievance to Lord Brahma, who is considered as the god of all. But Lord Brahma refused to help them and to interfere in the nature’s routine and asked them to take their complaint to Goddess Parvati, Lord Shiva’s wife. So they went to Goddess Parvati and by hearing their grievance suddenly out of the mouth of Maa Parvati came out Kaushki Devi, she attacked the giant brothers and killed them, but as they were blessed wherever on the dry earth the drops of their blood fall thousands of giants become alive and due to this the battle among goddess Kaushki Devi and giants took place for a very long period of time. On seeing this, Mata Parvati took concern on her avatar and from the eyebrow of Kaushki Devi arose Kali Devi. Her face was scary and full of anger, her lower lip rested on the hills and upper lip touches the sky. She drank the blood from the wounds of giant brothers so that it won’t fall on dry earth and in this way goddess completed the way of victory. After this Mata Kali Devi put her home at this juncture and since then she is worshiped as the major spirituality of the place.

Naming of the Temple

The shrine of Kalka Ji is well known by the name 'Jayanti Peeth' or ‘Manokamna Siddha Peeth' which factually means that all wishes of devotees who worship at this temple are fulfilled by Goddess Kalka as this temple is considered to be her residence. According to ancestors in Satyug when the Goddess Kalka was in a human form, she resided here and killed Raktbeejasur along with his giants. It is said that Lord Krishna had also worshiped her along with Pandavas at the time of Kurukshetra. They thanked her after winning the battle as well.

Structural Style of Kalka Ji Temple

The entire temple is made up of brick stonework. It was initially constructed with plaster and at the present it is finished with marbles. This temple is bounded by a pyramidal tower as well. The middle hall of temple consists of 12 sides and has an entrance on every side. Each entrance is roofed with limestone and is bordered by a verandah which has ample space. There are also 36 domed openings in the temple that add to its grandeur.

There is a verandah surrounding the Central hall from all sides. In the center of the covered passage, which lies opposite the eastern entrance way, are two red stonework tigers sitting on a limestone base. In the middle of tigers there is image of Kali Devi which is made up of stone and on the stone her name imprinted in Hindi.

Rituals

The most important ceremony consists every morning at 6 am and every evening at 7 pm in the form of offering and bathing the icon of Kali Devi with milk followed by an Arti. Milk and other offerings one can purchase just earlier than the doorway of the temple

The environment around the temple is fresh and intense with illumination which stays throughout the entire night.

Timings

The temple opens in the morning at 4 am and the closing time of temple is 11.30 pm in the evening. The temple remains closed for half an hour in the day time everyday for offering Prasad to Maa Kalka. For cleaning purposes, the temple closes from 3 pm to 4 pm every day.  Otherwise, the temple remains open all through the day.

How to Reach

The temple is situated to the east of the intersection of Mathura Road (the way to Agra) and the outer Ring Road. Tourists can reach up to Nehru Place (the bus terminal is well connected to every part of the city), from where one can take an auto-rickshaw or walk for 15 minutes.