AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Nakkash Ki Devi – Gomti Dham is the largest and most beloved temple of Hindaun City in Rajasthan’s Karauli district, set right in the heart of town on the banks of the Jalsen reservoir. The complex joins two devotions at one address: the shrine of Nakkash Ki Devi, a local form of Goddess Durga, and the Gomti Dham, the memorial temple and samadhi of the saint Gomti Dass Ji Maharaj. A garden, several subsidiary shrines and the open talab in front give it the feel of a peaceful pilgrimage ground rather than a cramped city temple, which is why it is both a place of worship and a favourite sightseeing stop for visitors to Hindaun.↗↗↗↗
How the temple began
The origin story is told in the temple’s literature and in local oral tradition. It is said that the saint Gomti Dass Ji Maharaj came to this site and rested beneath a peepal tree, where the goddess—referred to locally as Kaila Mata—appeared to him in a dream and revealed that her idols lay buried beneath the ground. The next day excavation uncovered two miraculous images of the goddess, which were installed on the spot, and a temple to Nakkash Ki Devi was raised over them.
