Hundreds of devotees visited the historic Tali Wali Mata Mandir in Marh, Jammu district — located near the India-Pakistan border — on Wednesday, 14 October, the fourth day of Navratri dedicated to Maa Kushmanda. The shrine, one of Jammu's most revered, drew worshippers from across the region even as temples nationwide witnessed large congregations.

Faith at the Frontier

The atmosphere at Tali Wali Mata Mandir was described as deeply spiritual, with devotees singing bhajans and playing musical instruments inside the temple premises. A young devotee said the sound of chants and devotional slogans could reportedly be heard all the way to the Pakistan border. She noted that the crowd was expected to swell further by the ninth day of the festival.

Notably, the shrine's significance has only deepened in recent months. The devotee said that despite the firing and bombings during Operation Sindoor — launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack — the temple had not suffered any damage. 'The temple is very renowned. People from far-off places visit it. Even soldiers deployed at the border sometimes come here to offer prayers,' she said.

Another devotee confirmed that many Border Security Force (BSF) personnel regularly visited the temple to seek the Goddess's blessings, with worshippers also travelling from Jammu city and Nagrota. She added that people from different religious communities visited the shrine and participated in its service.

Chamunda Mata Temple, Dewas Draws Lakhs

In Madhya Pradesh's Dewas, thousands gathered at the Chamunda Mata Temple on the fourth day of Navratri for the morning aarti. Some devotees were seen crawling on their knees to fulfil religious vows. Temple priest Suresh Nath said nearly four to five lakh people had visited the shrine in the preceding three to four days alone.

According to local religious belief, the deity at Dewas is also known as Raktavahini Chamunda, as the Goddess's blood is believed to have fallen at the site. Suresh Nath explained that the Goddess was believed to assume different forms throughout the day — childlike during the day, youthful in the afternoon, and elderly at night.

Kalkaji Temple, New Delhi: Crowd Management in Focus

At the Kalkaji Temple in New Delhi, special arrangements were made to manage the surge of Navratri visitors. Mahant Surendranath Avdhut said the temple opened its doors to devotees at midnight during the festival. Three entry points and two exit points were set up to ensure smooth movement, and a dedicated outpost was established within the premises for police, paramilitary, and volunteer personnel to assist worshippers.

Mirzapur's Vindhyavasini Temple Sees Steady Footfall

Devotees also visited the Maa Vindhyavasini Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur. Avinash Singh, who had travelled from Ranchi, said the temple arrangements were satisfactory and that he had faced no crowding issues during darshan. Manish Kumar Dubey, another devotee who visits the temple every Tuesday and on all nine days of Navratri, described the experience saying, 'I felt as if I was sitting in Mother's lap and being blessed.'

Navratri Fervour Continues

With five more days remaining in the nine-day festival, attendance at major shrines is expected to climb further. The Navratri celebrations this year carry particular resonance in border regions of Jammu and Kashmir, where the proximity of military operations has done little to diminish the faith of local worshippers and pilgrims.