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Every hour, every day,every year a mass of humanity surges up
steep pathways that cut across the hillside for mile after mile.
Popular belief holds that anybody who walks the Himalayan trail to
her abode to ask for a boon rarely goes back disappointed. There
are many who journey here year after year to pay obeisance
regardless of their faith or belief, creed or class, caste or
religion, for Mata Vaishno Devi transcends all such barriers.
As
the legend goes, more than 700 years ago Vaishno Devi a devotee of
Lord Vishnu, used to pray to Lord Rama and had taken vow of
celibacy. Bhairon Nath, a tantric (demon-God) tried to behold Her.
Making use of his tantric powers, Bhairon Nath was able to see Her
going towards the Trikuta mountains and gave chase. The Goddess
felt thirsty at Banganga and shot an arrow into the earth from
where water gushed out. Charan Paduka, marked by the imprints of
Her feet, is the place where she rested. The Goddess then
meditated in the cave at Adhkawari. It took Bhairon Nath nine
months to locate Her, the reason why the cave is known as Garbh
Joon. Mata Vaishno Devi blasted an opening at the other end of the
cave with Her Trident when the demon-God located Her.
 On
arriving at the Holy Cave at Darbar, she assumed the form of Maha
Kali and cut off Bhairon Nath's head which was flung up the
mountain by the force of the blow and fell at the place where the
Bhairon Temple is now located. The boulder at the mouth of the
Holy Cave according to the legend is the petrified torso of
Bhairon Nath who was granted divine forgiveness by the benevolent
Mata in his dying moments.
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