When someone asks them about famous temples of their city, most Delhiites mention Akshardham, Jhandewala and Chhattarpur. But there are quite a few other temples in Delhi that are believed to be much older, and the phrase used here to describe them is “Pandav Kalin Mandir” -- the legend being that the Pandavas founded these, either during their rule in Indraprastha or during their exile period. If you ask people in these temples, they just say “hazaroon saalon se yeh yahan hai” or “5000 saal purana hai”, thus making it a bit difficult to arrive at a specific date.
Yogmaya temple in Mehrauli is regarded among such “pracheen mandir” in Delhi. It is an Adishakti Peeth dedicated to Devi Jogmaya (the story here refers to the girl child who was kept in place of Lord Krishna, was thrown into the wall by the cruel King Kansa, and who vanished after predicting his death). The temple was said to have been destroyed by Mahmood of Ghazni and has been reconstructed several times. The gateway of the present temple is situated on Kalka Dass Road, near Qutab Minar complex. The temple itself is a marbled one, with intricate carvings on the outer wall. Floral fans offered during the annual Phoolwalon-Ki-Sair procession of harmony add to its serene ambience.
Kalka Ji Mandir, dedicated to goddess Kali or Kalika in the form of destroyer of demon “”Raktabeeja” (the asura, who regenerated in hundreds from droplets of his blood, ‘Matrix’-style), witnesses huge rush of devotees during Navaratri. A long pathway lined up with small shops displaying puja samagri, idols, photos, mounds of vermilion, toys and knick-knacks lead to the Octagonal temple. There are signboards warning that cellphones will be confiscated if pictures are taken, so I did not try to. Both these temples have been sketched and described by Sayyid Ahmad Khan in his seminal 1847 work on Delhi, Asar-us-Sanadid, which has been translated into English by Rana Safvi. Khan mentions that Kalka temple's pinnacle was built by Mirza Raja Kedarnath, the accountant in the administration of Mughal king Akbar Shah.
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| A floral pankha offered at Yogmaya temple during Phoolwalon-Ki-Sair procession of harmony |
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| Sketch of Kalka Ji temple in Asar-us-Sanadid |
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| At a shop near Kalka Ji Mandir |
Behind the Old Fort, on Bhairon Marg, you can see two temples some 400 metres apart – Shri Kilkari Baba Bhairon Nath Ji Pandavon Kalin Mandir and Shri Dudhiya Baba Bhairon Nath Ji Pandavon Kalin Mandir. It is said that there is option to offer alcohol at Kilkari temple to Baba Bhairon Nath Ji, who is a Tantrik deity, though in Dudhiya temple, only milk is offered. Dudhiya Baba temple pathway runs parallel to the walls of the fort and the structure is not visible from main road like Kilkari temple. The former has a nice gateway, though architecture-wise I found the latter better.
The Neeli Chatri Shiv Mandir in Kashmere Gate and Shri Batuk Bhairav Mandir inside Nehru Park are two other temples in Delhi which are generally described as “Pandav Kalin”, though there may be many other temples where this epithet is used to claim that they belonged to ancient times.
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| Kilkari temple gateway |
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| The pathway of Dudhiya Baba temple was deserted in the morning barring a few dogs who came towards me menacingly, but a helpful priest told them off |
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| Dudhiya Baba temple |
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| Well near Batuk Bhairav temple, Nehru Park |
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