Tripura Sundari Temple

Tripura Sundari Temple is a shrine to the goddess Tripura Sundari, a form of Shakti, in the hills of Banswara district in southern Rajasthan, and it is counted among the Shakti Peethas. Her image, cut from black stone and about five feet tall, shows her riding a lion and carrying a weapon in each of her eighteen hands, with a Shri Yantra placed at her feet.

Devotees hold that the goddess changes over the day: a girl in the morning, a grown woman at noon and an older woman by evening, which is how her name is explained. An inscription here is dated Vikram Samvat 1540, and local tradition links the site with the era of Kanishka and with gifts from the rulers of Gujarat, Malwa and Marwar. Damaged in medieval raids, it was rebuilt several times, notably in 1157 and in 1977. A tall spire rises over a plain sanctum, and the walls carry carvings of the Navadurga and the 64 Yoginis.