‘When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.‘ This insightful piece of wisdom comes from ‘The Little Prince’, written by French author, Antoine de Saint-Exupery. For me, personally, this quote has been a compass in my life. Whenever there is a decision to make, I look forward to the option that has a little mystery behind it. And to date, it has paid me off in a grand way! Now, living in India, I have visited various temples. While most of them adhered to the accepted social norm of a standard temple, there are some unusual temples in India that will leave you scratching your head and simultaneously booking a ticket to visit it. Here is my list of the top 5 bizarre temples in India.

1. Kamakhya Devi Temple in Guwahati, Assam

Kamakhya Devi is one of the 51 shakti-peethas and also one of the most powerful temples in India. Legend has it that when Lord Vishnu cut Sati Devi’s dead body with his Sudarshan Chakra, the vagina (or Yoni) of Sati Devi fell on present-day Kamakhya Temple. The original temple is underground with absolutely no artificial lighting. Further, once there, you will find no mural or art depiction of Sati Devi there. Instead, you will find the Yoni of Sati Devi covered with a red silk saree. 

Chief patrons of Kamakhya Temple:

Apart from the usual crowd, you will also find here tantriks, occult practitioners, black magicians and people who bring their relatives for an exorcism. In addition to that, animal sacrifices are done here by a few people to appease the Goddess.

What’s bizarre about Kamakhya Devi Temple?

During the monsoons, the entire temple shuts down for 3 days to accommodate the menstruation of Sati Devi. The Yoni of Sati Devi bleeds blood during these 3 days which flows into the underground spring and turns the water red. During these 3 days, the famous Ambubachi mela is also held for the tantriks from across India. 

When the temple reopens on the 4th day, the devotees are given a piece of the same blood-stained saree of Sati Devi.

 2. Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple in Kerala

This 2000-year-old temple in Kerala is home to Goddess Bhadrakali, one of Goddess Kali’s reincarnations. It is also regarded as Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple and is one of the most unique temples in India. Here, a seven-day festival, named the Bharani Festival, is celebrated annually.

But it is not like any other festival you have seen.

What’s bizarre about Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple?

During the Bharani festival, devotees (both men and women) wear red coloured cloths and arm themselves with sharp-edged swords and run amok the temple’s premises. Some run around in a trance-like state, oblivious to the crowd and environment surrounding them. 

The most bizarre part comes here: the devotees hit themselves with their own swords with the intention to draw blood and hurl it towards the Devi. While doing so, they shout the choicest of abuses towards her and sing crude and obscene songs about her. What’s more, is that offerings from the devotees are thrown, rather than offered gently, at the goddess’ statue and the devotees hit the rafters of the temple repeatedly with big sticks. 

After the festival, priests shut down the temple for 7 days to clean all the blood and perform some rituals.

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3. Kaal Bhairav Nath Temple in Varanasi, Ujjain & Ujjaini

Kaal Bhairav Nath is the fiercest avatar of Lord Shiva and it is said that even Death fears him. Whenever Lord Shiva needed to bring balance in the World, mainly due to the havoc created by Demons, he sent forth Kaal Bhairav Nath who ruthlessly killed and destroyed all those who stood in his way.

What’s bizarre about Kaal Bhairav Nath Temples?

The idol of Kaal Bhairavnath situated in Banaras, Ujjain & Ujjaini does one thing so bizarre that you must see it yourself to believe it. The idol drinks alcohol. Yes! You read that right. Devotees come in droves and offer the choicest of alcohols to the idol and you can even see the alcohol going inside the idol’s mouth. The god drinks half the bottle and leaves the other half as prasad for the devotee!

Now, if that is not something worthy of witnessing, I don’t know what is.

4. Bullet Baba’s Mandir/Om Banna Temple in Jodhpur, Rajasthan

One of the rare temples in India, Bullet Baba temple is for the riders and the adventurers seeking blessings for a safe journey ahead. Unlike most Indian temples, the Om Banna temple AKA Bullet Baba Temple does not possess any God’s idol or mural. Instead, it contains Bullet motorcycle stands enclosed in a glass box. This temple is not so much bizarre as it is unusual but the story behind this temple is downright weird.

What’s weird about Bullet Baba’s Mandir?

The legend says that once, Om Banna, the son of a village leader died while he was riding on his Bullet motorcycle. While he died on the spot, his Bullet fell into a ditch. The police tried to remove the motorbike many times, even emptying its fuel and chaining it up at the police station, but every time, the bike was mysteriously found at the spot of the accident. (sounds like the movie ‘Tarzan: The Wonder Car’, right?)

Seeing this, the locals took the bike and made a temple around it. Riders, adventurers and explorers come from across the country and offer alcohol to seek blessings for a safe journey, Om Banna seems to grant it too! 

Seems ironic, isn’t it? Offering the one thing that causes most of the vehicle accidents in India? But hey, it works!

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5. Sonia Gandhi Temple in Telangana

I saved the most bizarre temple of India for the last. One of the weird temples in India, the Sonia Gandhi temple was constructed as a token of gratitude towards the Leader of Congress, Sonia Gandhi, for making the existence of Telangana as a separate state, a reality.

What’s bizarre about the Sonia Gandhi Temple?

Apart from being dedicated to someone who is still alive might be one of the most bizarre things about this temple. But I have more. The 9-feet tall idol was brought from Rajasthan. Herein ‘Devi’ Sonia Gandhi can be seen holding a lotus in one hand and a plate, brimming with wealth, on the other.

In my opinion, the most bizarre thing about this temple is that on the outer walls hangs the portraits of the whole Gandhi clan, including Rahul Gandhi! People pray to them, offer them sweets, if this is not bizarre, I don’t know what is!

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Bonus list of bizarre temples in India:

1. Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir, Nathula Pass, Sikkim: one of the most powerful temples in India, this temple/shrine is dedicated to Soldier Harbhajan Singh who was killed in action on the Indian Border. It’s infamous tale that the soldier’s ghost still sentries on the borders and warns the Indian soldiers of any upcoming danger!

2. Ravana Temple, Ravangram: Ravangram is an Indian village in Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh. It’s name derives after the Demon King Ravana. The natives of this village believe that most Kanyakubja Brahmins have descended from Ravana’s lineage and thus, pray to a 10-ft tool statue of his. Truly, this is one of the many rare temples in India.

3. Digambareshwar Temple, Nagara, Karnataka: this is one of the most controversial and unique temples in India. Mainly because of its one bizarre ritual. Whenever a child is born, the parents bring it to the temple. Once here, the baby is taken to the roof of the temple where the people dangle the baby and let go. The baby free falls one story and lands on a cloth held by the people on the ground. This ritual is to ascertain the health of the infant.

I hope you found this article on the top 5 bizarre temples in India,  interesting and enjoyable. If you think I missed out on any other weird temples in India, then please comment down below! Till then, stay mysterious.

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