The Vindhya Tricone in Religious Prospective

The holy pilgrimage to the Vindhya Triangle (Tricone), however mythical it may be, has got an all time relevance. On one point of the holy tricone, lies the shrine of Mahasaraswati, the Goddess of learning, on the other point abodes Goddess Mahalakshami, the provider of wealth, whereas on the third point abodes Goddess Mahakali, the destroyer of evils. By undertaking a pilgrimage to this holy tricone, the devotees get such an immense feeling of divinity which is simply unexplicable, beyond description, unillustrable.
The pilgrimage is to be started for Right side and must end at the starting point. Hence, the actual tricone pilgrimage is to be started from Ashtabhuja (Mahasaraswati) and must conclude there only. At the eastern point of Tricone-Yantra abodes Mahalakshami (Vindhyavasini), at Southern point abodes Mahakali and at Western point abodes Mahasaraswati (Ashtbhuja).
Maa Ashtabhuja is the daughter of "Nandja", related to Sri Krishna's birth story. The same body born as eighth issue of Devaki, whom Kans thought to be his destroyer and wanted to kill it, flew to sky to become Ashbhuja. Later on, at the behest of gods, the girl started living in the Vindhya jungles and permanently settled there.
The pilgrimage must start their tricone yatra by taking permission of Mahasaraswati and with the chanting of 'Maa', "Maa! I am undertaking this pilgrimage in the hope that every step of mine will bear the fruit of 'Ashwamedh Yagya' and all my sins be washed away." After getting the Mother's permission, they must visit Vasku Bhairav, near Bairav Kund – just at a distance of 4 furlong – from Ashtbhuja. And, very near to that, lies the Shreeyantra beside Mangla Gauri.
Lord Ram, the mythological king of Ayodhya, performed some rituals here on the bank of the Ganga and the place is known as Ramgaya. So, after the darshan of Shreeyantra, the pilgrims must pay a visit to Ramgaya followed by a visit to the shrine of Mahatara – the goddess of tantra. After that, visit to Lord Hanuman, the guardian of eastern gate to Vindhyachal, must be made.
On the eastern angle of the holy tricone, abodes the beautiful decorated and ornamented Mahalakshami. In Devi Puran, the description and related stories of 108 Shakti Peeths is given. It is said that lord Vishnu, with his sudarshan chakra, cut the body of Sati in 108 parts and the parts fell at 108 places on earth, each part forming one Shakti peeth and the abode of Vindhyavasini (Mahalakshami) being one.
In Her quest to attain eternal beauty, Goddess Lakshami worshipped Tarakeswar Mahadev at Tarkapuri, Vindhyachal after bathing in the holy pond dug up by Tarak, the demon king. After that holy bath, Goddess Lakshami undertook worship (tapasya) of Lord Shiva at Narayan sarovar for the ten thousand years. Pleased at Her rigorous tapasya, Lord Shiva blessed the Goddess Lakshami to be established as the presiding deity of Vindhyachal.
At the southern angle of Vindhya tricone, abodes Goddess Mahakali. About this Goddess, the purans describe an incident of Lord Ram's court. One day when the meeting between Lord Ram, Goddess Sita and other courtiers was going on, the question about who should be given credit for Ravan's fall was raised. At this Goddess Sita said that ten headed (dashanan) Ravan is killed but sahastrabhuj (thousand handed) Ravan is still to be killed. Furious at Sita's instigation, Lord Ram invaded the capital of Sahastrabahu with a huge army. During that furious battle Lord Ram was defeated and became unconscious. Sahastrabahu caught hold of Sita asking Her to be his spouse. Hearing those insulting words, goddess Sita took on ugly form. She opened Her mouth and within no time Sahastrabahu along with his entire army entered into the mouth of Goddess Sita turned to goddess Kali. She started chewing them all. Wherever the goddess ran the earth Lord Shiva lay down under the feet, the goddess humbled and turned to Bhadrakali. Lord Ram regained his consciousness and worshipped the goddess. That place of worship is known as Kalikhoh, the abode of Mahakali.
After paying visit to Mahakali at Kalikhoh, the devotees must pay a visit to Bhootnath, at the backyard. During Navratras, the ghost stricken people through the place of salvation. From that place, the pilgrims should climb up the stairs to go to Geruwa talab. After paying respects to Lord Krishna there, they should process forward towards Sita Kund, which was established by Sitaji during her 14 years exile with Ram and Lakshaman. From there, they must come back to Ashtabhuja and bow their heads to the goddess. Finally they must visit the Pataal Kali shrine nearby and again turn their faces towards the goddess Ashtabhuja for paying their respect and expressing thanks for the successful completion of the tricone yatra.
There is no doubt that if the tricone yatra is undertaken with complete faith and devotion, it bears unimaginable fruits and all humbly wishes are fulfilled.