Kalkaji Temple

Kalkaji Mandir is a popular and highly revered shrine of Delhi, the capital city of India. Kalkaji Mandir is situated in Kalkaji, a locality that has derived its name from the temple and is close to the famous Lotus Temple and ISKCON Temple. The temple is dedicated to Kalka Devi, one of the incarnations of Goddess Shakti or Durga.

The Kalkaji Mandir is also called ‘Jayanti Peetha’ or ‘Manokamna Siddha Peetha’ which literally means that all the desires of the devotees are fulfilled here by the Deity Goddess Kalika who has taken this temple as her abode. The general belief is that the image of the Goddess Kalka here is a self-manifested one, and that the shrine dates back to Satya Yuga when the Goddess Kalika had incarnated and killed the demon Raktabija along with other giant demons.

The temple is situated on the Suryakoota Parvata (ie. Suryakoota Mount) of Aravali Mountain Ranges. That is why we call Maa Kalka Devi (Goddess Kalika) as ‘Suryakoota Niwasini’, that is one who dwells at Suryakoota.

A 12-sided structure, Kalkaji Mandir has been constructed completely out of marble and black pumice stones. The black color is the sign to denote the goddess Kali, so the temple construction is made of with black stone.

The Kalka Devi temple complex is constructed of brick masonry finished with plaster (now with marbles) and is surrounded by a pyramidal tower. The Central Chamber which is 12 sided in plan diam. (24′ I.M.) with a doorway in each side is paved with marble and is surrounded by a verandah 8’9″ wide and containing 36 arched openings (shown as the exterior doorways in the Parikrama). This verandah encloses the Central Chamber from all sides. In the middle of the arcade right next to the eastern door is the eastern doorway there are two tigers fashioned in red sandstone sitting on a marble pedestal with inscriptions in Urdu. Between the two tigers there is an image of Kalkidevi with her name inscribed in Hindi and a trident of stone standing before it.