History

Mata Mansa Devi is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti, in the Panchkula district of Haryana state in India. The temple complex is spread of 100 acres (0.40 km2) of the Shivalik foothills in the village of Bilaspur, near Mani Majra, and Panchkula, 10 km from Chandi Mandir, another noted Devi shrine in the region, both just outside Chandigarh.

It is one of the prominent Shakti temples of North India. Thousands of devotees visit the shrine from various parts of the country, and especially during the Navratra mela, this number rises to lakhs everyday for the nine auspicious days.
Maharaja Gopal Singh of Mani Majra constructed the present main temple of Shri Mansa Devi, which is situated on the Shivalik foothills in village Bilaspur, Tehsil and District Panchkula, during the period 1811–1815. At a distance of 200 meters from the main temple is the Patiala temple which was constructed by Karam Singh, a Sikh, the then Maharaja Patiala in the year 1840. This temple had the patronage of Manimajra Princely State.

After the merger of Princely states into PEPSU the Patronage of State Govt. ended and the temples remained neglected. The Raja of Manimajra then appointed pujari as ‘khidmatuzar’ to serve this temple whose duty was to worship the deity of the temple.

After the merger of princely State into PEPSU these pujaris became independent in the matter of controlling and managing the affairs of the temple and the land attached to the temple. They could neither maintain this temple nor provide necessary facilities to the visiting devotees and thus the condition of the temple deteriorated day by day. So much so that there were no proper arrangements for pilgrims visiting the temple during Navaratra melas.

As a result, the Government of Haryana took over the temple and set up the Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board (SMMDSB) Panchkula trust to manage the temple. The complex was in awfully neglected condition till the establishment of the Board.
Navratra festival is celebrated in the mandir for nine days. Twice in a year millions of devotees visit the temple. Shardiya Navratra mela are organized at the shrine complex during Chaitra and Ashvin months. Every year two Navratra melas are organised in the month of Ashvin (Shardiya, Sharad or Winter Navratra) and other in the month of Chaitra, Spring Navratra by the Shrine Board.

Lakhs of devotees pay obeisance during the Navratra mela held in Ashvin and Chaitra and temples remain open throughout the day. These melas are of 9 days duration each time and concludes on the 9th day. The shrine Board makes elaborate arrangements for the comfortable stay and darshan of the devotees. The board makes arrangements for the provision of Chhowldari, tented accommodation, durries, blankets, temporary toilets, temporary dispensaries, mela police post and lines.

During the mela, Duty Magistrates and Nodal Officers are appointed to look after the devotees and smooth conduct of the mela. On the 7th and 8th day of Navratras, the temples of Shrine Complex are closed only for two hours during the night for cleaning maintenance of the temples. For the rest of Navratras, the temples remain open for darshan from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.