Purnagiri Temple – Mythology, Location, How to Reach | Purnagiri Mandir

Purnagiri Temple is situated on the top of the Poornagiri hill in the town of Tanakpur of Champawat district of Uttarakhand state in India. It dedicated to Hindu goddess Maa Parvati. Perched at a height of 3000 m above sea level, the temple is 20 kilometers away from Tanakpur. The Poornagiri Mandir has its own importance and devotees from every corner of the state come to visit the temple. 

Importance of Maa Purnagiri Temple

Purnagiri temple has great importance among Hindu devotees. It is considered as one of the sacred 108 Siddha Peethas of India. Every year thousands of devotees visit Purnagiri Temple in Chaitra Navratri, which falls in the month of March – April. It is believed that after visiting Maa Purnagiri temple, one has to visit Siddha Baba Temple. Then only the journey is considered to be meaningful.

Location of Purnagiri Temple

Flowing through the hills, river Kali Ganga enters into the plains in Tanakpur and from here on, it is known as Sharda River. One can get here by road till Thulligad from Tanakpur and then there is a 3 km long stairway to finally reach the Purnagiri Temple. The temple is the highest point of the Purnagiri hill. From here one can see the expanse of river Kali, its small islands, a few Nepali villages and the whole township of Tanakpur.

Mythology of Purnagiri Mandir

As per the Hindu Mythology, in Sat-yuga, Sati (Maa Parvati) was the daughter of Daksha Prajapati and she wanted to marry Lord Shiva. But Daksha Prajapati was against it as Daksha Prajapati was a king and Lord Shiva was a Yogi. After Sati married Lord Shiva against Daksha’s wish, he thought of insulting his Son-in-law Shiva and conducted a Yagna. Daksha invited all Devtas but he did not invite Lord Siva and his Ganas.

Later on, Sati came to know about this incident and asked her father to apologize to Shiva. But Daksha insulted Sati before all the guests. After all these things, Sati self-immolated herself in the Yoga Agni.

As Lord Shiva came to know about this, he ordered Veerabhadra to destroy the Yagna and Kill Daksha Prajapati. Veerabhadra along with Kali and Shiva Ganas destroyed the Yagna and beheaded king Daksha.

He carried the remains of Sati’s body with grief and performed the dance of destruction through the Universe. The places where the parts of her body fell are now recognized as Shakti Peeths. In Purnagiri the Naabhi (Naval) part of Sati fell, where the present temple of Purnagiri is situated.

How to Reach Purnagiri Temple

The temple is 366 km away from Delhi and 20 km from Tanakpur.

By Road

The city is well connected to all the other major cities of North India. Regular and AC buses from ISBT Anand Vihar and ISBT Dehradun are easily available to Tanakpur.

By Train

Trains to Tanakpur Railway Station are easily available from major destinations of India like Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata etc.

By Air

Pantnagar Airport is the closest to Tanakpur. It is situated 98 km away from here. One can hire a taxi from here or use public transports. Buses are easily available to Tanakpur from Haldwani and Rudrapur. Haldwani is 32 km from the Pantnagar airport and Rudrapur is 15 km away.

Purnagiri Temple Distance Chart from Various Cities