Among the minor temples of Benares, this temple is of
special importance. Kaudi Mata is called Gavvalamma in Telugu. The temple is
located near Durgakund, in the lane opposite to the Durga mandhir in Bhelupur.
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| Kaudi Mata Gavvalamma Temple |
Kaudi Mata is considered as a sister to Lord Vishwanath.
She is the forest goddess/ Grama Devatha of South India who came
to Benares to worship Lord Shiva. People here did not behave well with her.
Irked with them, the goddess abandoned food and water.
After this Maa Annapurna Devi came and placed her in
the form of Kodiya Devi here. She blessed the goddess who is considered worthless
and told that Kaudi/Conch shells which are usually considered worthless will
become valuable and will be offered to you. With your good influence, there
will be no grief in the Devotee’s life. Without offering Kaudis to you a pilgrim’s
Kashi Darshan would be incomplete.
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| offerings to the Kaudi Mata- 5 kaudi (conch shells) and a piece of cloth |
From then devotees offer a piece of cloth, Kumkum, Turmeric and 5 conch
shells to Kaudi Mata. Four of them are presented to the mother and the fifth
one is returned to the devotee who keeps it at his money point which is supposed
to make him prosperous.
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| Gavvalamma/ Kaudi Mata with conch shell garlands |
Some ancient literature considers, Kaudi Mata as
re-incarnation of Shabari, an ardent devotee of Lord Rama in Dwapara Yuga. She
used to pluck fruits for Lord Rama daily and would taste it first and if it was
sweet she would offer to the God and used to discard the bitter ones. She just
wanted to give sweet fruits to Lord Rama and the thought never came to her mind
that she should not taste them before they are offered to the deity.
When she realized her mistake, she told the truth to the
Lord Rama. Rama forgave her and blessed her that you will be worshipped in
Kalyug and you will be offered Conch shells, now go and settle in Kashi, you
will be relieved from your sin there. Thus, she settled here as Kaudi Mata.
The main deity is on a raised platform with a small circum-ambulatory path around it. It is a modern day temple without any architectural significance.
There is no such temple of Kaudi Mata anywhere in the
country. It is a worth visiting one.
