Durgiana Temple

After Sri Harminder sahib (the Golden Temple) Durgiana Temple is the second most visited holy site in Amritsar. It is also known as Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Durga Tirath and Sitla Mandir. The name of this Temple has been derived from the Goddess Durga, the chief Goddess deified and worshipped here. Idols of Goddess Laksmi (goddess of wealth) and Vishnu (the protector of the world) are also deified here. In the courtyard of this holy shrine, there is a tree where it is believed that the Sons of Lord Rama, Lava and Kusha bound Hanuman as they captured the challenged horse of the Ashvamedha Yagna. Iksvaku, the grandson of ‘sun-god’ performed a number of yagyas on this land. Its architecture is similar to the Golden Temple. It was rebuilt in 1924 by Harsai Mal Kapoor who gave it a look of Golden Temple. The main Temple is surrounded by holy pond exactly as Golden Temple, and the marble stone and gold plating are used to decorate it. All major Hindu festivals are celebrated here like Ram Navmi, Diwali, Dushehra and Langoora wala Mela which is the major attraction during the Dushehra-(Navratras). During this festival, the children are attired in the form of Langoors and perform dances on the beats of Bhajans-(holy chanting). The childless couples visit here with a hope and tie a thread on the holy tree by promising that when they get blessed with a child, they will bring him here in with Langoor attire.