Surkanda

The Surkanda peak lying at an altitude of 2,750 m. in the western part of tehsil Tehri, and is famous for the temple of Surkanda Devi. It is about 8 km. from Dhanolti on the motor road running from Mussoorie to Chamba and is connected with Narendra Nagar which is about 61 km. and with Tehri which is about 41 km. by motor roads. To reach the temple one has to leave the Mussoorie-Chamba road at Kadu Khal and climb a steep ascent of about 2.5 km. on foot. It is surrounded by dense forest.The beautiful and picturesque environment of nature makes this place more attractive for tourists. It commands a beautiful view of Dehra Dun, Rishikesh, Chandrabadni, Pratapnagar and Chakrata. Flowers of varied kinds and colours and indigenous herbs grown in abundance here and some of the beautiful birds of the western Himalayas are also found in the neighborhood. The Ganga Dushhera festival is celebrated every year between May and June and attracts a lot of pilgrims here. This is a temple which is situated among the trees of Rounsli. It is covered with the fog most of the time of the year which also attracts the tourist here.

History:-

According to old stories about the origin of worship at the site is associated with the legend of Sati, who was the wife of the ascetic god Shiva and daughter of the Puranic god-king Daksha. Daksha was unhappy with his daughter’s choice of husband, and when he performed a grand Vedic sacrifice for all the deities. Sati’s father Daksha made some derogatory remarks about her husband and she had flung herself in the yajna fires. Meanwhile, Shiva was stricken with grief and angry at the loss of his wife. He put Sati’s body over his shoulder and began his tandava (dance of cosmic destruction) throughout the heaven. The other Gods, afraid of their tandav, forced Vishnu to calm down Shiva. Thus, wherever Shiva wandered while dancing, Vishnu followed. He sent his Sudarshan wheel to destroy the corpse of Sati. Pieces of Sati body fell until Shiva was left without a body to carry. There are 51 pieces of Sati’s body scattered across all over the Indian subcontinent. These places are called shakti peethas and dedicated to various powerful goddesses. When Shiva was passing over this place on his way back to Kailash carrying Sati’s body, her head fell down at the spot where the sacred temple of Surkhanda Devi stands and due to which the temple’s got its name as sirkhanda which in the passage of time is now called Surkanda.

How to Reach: