Hinglaj Mata Festival celebrated in Pakistan, Hindu devotees from India also attended

The centuries old annual Hinglaj Mata Festival was celebrated with zeal and zest in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province. Hindu devotees from Pakistan and India along with other countries participated in this centuries-old religious festival which concluded on Monday.

The ancient Hinglaj Mata Temple, located in Kund Malir area of Lasbela district of Balochistan province, is considered one of the biggest pilgrimage sites of Hindu civilisation. It is one of the five ancient Hindu temples around the world. Hinglaj Temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Sati, is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths.

We saw a big rush of Hindu pilgrims for the festival last year and this year as well, as it could not be held for two years due to the Covid pandemic,” said Balochistan Senator Danesh Kumar. Hundreds of Hindus also come from abroad, some from India for the 3-day religious festival, he said.

"The historic temple has now become easily accessible after it was connected with urban Pakistan through the Makran Coastal Highway. Earlier, it used to be very difficult for devotees to reach the temple as it is in the foothills of the Kirthar mountain range,” he said.

Many of the devotees prefer to walk barefoot up the mountains to the temple as they believe that the more pain they would go through to reach the temple, the better they would get from the "goddess of goodness", said Kumar.