Kalimath (कालीमठ) is one of the divine place and "Siddhapith" (सिद्ध पीठ) situated on the side of river Saraswati in the beautiful valley of Himalayas surrounded by snow covered peaks of Kedarnath close to Ukhimath, and Guptakashi in Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand the 27th state of Republic of India. This is the divine place & siddh peeth where “Mata Kali” killed the demon "Rakt Beej" and had gone under the earth. The temple of Goddess Kali located here is visited by a large number of devotees round the year, especially during the “Navratras”. The most interesting thing about the temple is that it does not have any idol there. Pooja of “Shree Yantra”(श्रीयन्त्र) is performed here. Only for one day in the whole year the divine goddess is taken out and puja is performed in the midnight when only the chief priest is present.
This area of the Himalayas is said to be one of the most spiritually vibrant areas for meditation. Kalimath is among the most powerful, having the energy of shakti, as well as an ancient history of saints and their meditations there.
This is only the place where goddess Maata Kali is located along with her sisters Mata Laxmi and Maa Saraswati. The temple is surrounded by ancient, antique & unique architecture temples of Goddess Maha Laxmi, Mata Saraswati, Gauri-Shankar and many antique Shivlings, idols of Nandi, Ganesh etc. The structure & walls of these temples are self explanatory regarding the age of temples. An eternal holy flame always burns in the temple of goddess Maha Laxmi. Bheron Mandir is also located very near. This place is very beautiful and eye-catching.
‘Honorable Guru’ & Member of Parliament Shri “Satpal Ji Maharaj” has setup a small Aashram just behind & very close to the temple. Pilgrims can stay there. This place is very beautiful and eye-catching. My first visit of this divine place happened in October 2009 and I liked this place so much that again visited in March 2010 and decided to have my own place for living here in the holy feet of ‘Mata Maha Kali’ hence have purchased a piece of land in May 2010 to setup my own holy place for worship and meditation.
The village Kalimath originally (now also) known as village ‘Kaviltha’ is a birth place of KALIDAS (कालीदास). Kalidas was blessed here and then he became a famous learned poet of Sanskrit.
The divine rock known as ‘KALI SHILA’ is located at a high uphill which can be reached by 7 kilometres tracking uphill. An old Saint Bangali Baba and an English lady saint lives there. The German lady visited this place about 18-20 years ago and remained there in meditation and worship of goddess. She never came down.
There is also a beautiful confluence with रुद्राक्ष (Rudrakchh) trees & pilgrimage spot 4-5 kms ahead known as Kotimaheshwari and Ruchch Mahadev. To reach this place you will have to go to "kotma" village which is nearly 3-4 kms. & 1 km. further to reach the starting point of the trek to "ruch mahadev". This trek of 2 kms is downhill to reach a beautiful confluence point of holy rivers Madhuganga and Saraswati. Very few tourists visit this place due to lack of proper knowledge about this place. There is a temple of Ma Kotimaheshwari and there is a rock which is symbolical of the lord Mahadev right in the middle of the river. You have to go down in the river water and walk on some stones to reach "Ruch Mahadev" linga. It is said that Devi Parvati played there in her childhood and there is a small Jharna (water fall) where she is supposed to bathe.
[ मां भगवती की असीमित शक्तिपुंज के रूप में स्थित है कालीशिला और कालीमठ। कालीशिला मां काली का प्रकाट्य स्थल है तो कालीमठ मां के अंतर्ध्यान स्थल के रूप में विख्यात है। कालीशिला करीब आठ हजार फुट की ऊंचाई पर कालीमठ से लगभग छह किमी खड़ी चढ़ाई पर स्थित है। जबकि, कालीमठ सरस्वती नदी के किनारे स्थित है। विश्वास है कि मां दुर्गा शुंभ-निशुंभ और रक्तबीज का संहार करने के लिए कालीशिला में १२ वर्ष की कन्या के रूप में प्रकट हुई थीं। कालीशिला में देवी-देवताओं के ६४ यंत्र हैं। मान्यता है कि इस स्थान पर शुंभ-निशुंभ दैत्यों से परेशान देवी-देवताओं ने मां भगवती की तपस्या की थी। तब मां प्रकट हुई। असुरों के आतंक के बारे में सुनकर मां का शरीर क्रोध से काला पड़ गया और उन्होंने विकराल रूप धारण कर लिया। मां ने युद्ध में दोनों दैत्यों का संहार कर दिया। मां को इन्हीं ६४ यंत्रों से शक्ति मिली थी। स्थानीय निवासीओं के अनुसार, यह भी किवदंती है कि माता सती ने पार्वती के रूप में दूसरा जन्म इसी शिलाखंड में लिया था। वहीं, कालीमठ मंदिर के समीप मां ने रक्तबीज का वध किया था। उसका रक्त जमीन पर न पड़े, इसलिए महाकाली ने मुंह फैलाकर उसके रक्त को चाटना शुरू किया। रक्तबीज शिला नदी किनारे आज भी स्थित है। इस शिला पर माता ने उसका सिर रखा था। कालीमठ मंदिर में एक कुंड है, जो रजत पट / श्रीयंत्र से ढका रहता है। शारदीय नवरात्रों में अष्टमी को इस कुंड को खोला जाता है। मान्यता है कि जब महाकाली शांत नहीं हुईं, तो भगवान शिव मां के मां के चरणों के नीचे लेट गए। जैसे ही महाकाली ने शिव के सीने में पैर रखा वह शांत होकर इसी कुंड में अंतर्ध्यान हो गईं। माना जाता है कि महाकाली इसी कुंड में समाई हुई हैं। कालीमठ में शिव-शक्ति स्थापित हैं। यहां पर महाकाली, महालक्ष्मी, महासरस्वती, गौरी मंदिर और भैरव मंदिर स्थित हैं। यहां अखंड ज्योति निरंतर जल रही है।]
