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Hinglaj Mata&nbsp; also known as Hinglaj Devi and Nani Mandir&nbsp;in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan, and is the middle of the Hingol National Park. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in Shaktism denomination of Hinduism.&nbsp;It is one of the three Shakti Peethas in Pakistan, other two being Shivaharkaray and Sharada Peeth.&nbsp;It is a form of Durga or Devi in a mountain cavern on the banks of the Hingol River.&nbsp;Over the last three decades the place has gained increasing popularity and became a unifying point of reference for Pakistan&#39;s many Hindu communities.

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&nbsp;Hinglaj Yatra is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan. More than 250,000 people take part in the Hinglaj Yathra during the spring.The shrine is in a small natural cave. There is a low mud altar. There is no man-made image of the goddess. A small divine form of Hinglaj Mata is worshipped.

The stone is smeared with sindoor (vermilion), which possibly gives the location its Sanskrit name Hingula, which is the root of the present-day name Hinglaj.The cave temple of Hinglaj Mata is in a narrow gorge in the remote, hilly area of Lyari Tehsil in Balochistan. It is 250 kilometres (160 mi) to the northwest, 12 miles (19 km) inland from the Arabian Sea and 80 miles (130 km) to the west of the mouth of the Indus. It is at the end of a range of Kirthar Mountains, in the Makran desert stretch, on the west bank of Hingol River.

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Brahmakshatriyas 
The Brahmakshatriya community and Charan community also known as Gadhvi venerate Hinglaj Mata as their family deity. They believe that when the god Parashurama was persecuting kshatriyas (the warrior caste), some Brahmins (priest caste) provided protection to 12 kshatriyas and disguised them as Brahmins, and they were protected by Hinglaj Mata. Another variation of the tale is that the sage Dadhichi provided protection to Ratnasena, a king ruling in Sind, in his ashram (hermitage).

However, Parashurama killed him when he ventured out. His sons remained in the ashram. When Parashurama visited the ashram, they were disguised as Brahmins. One of them, Jayasena, returned to Sind to rule the kingdom, armed with a protective mantra of Hinglaj Mata, given by Dadhici. Hinglaj Mata protected Jayasena and ordered Parshurama to end his killing spree.

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Kuldevi 
As per the popular folklore of Treta Yuga, a virtuous Haihaya king of Mahishmati of Malwa region, Sahastrabahu Arjuna or Sahastararjun, more widely known as Kartavirya Arjuna drunk with power and sense of invincibility ends up killing the great Brahman sage Jamadagni over a sacred cow Kamadhenu. Furious at this heinous crime, son of Jamadagni, Lord Parashurama vows to vanquish the power-drunk Kshatriya clan from Earth.

Wielding his divine axe, he eliminates Sahastararjun and later on he rages on earth 21 times, each time decimating unvirtuous and unworthy kings wherever he went.Terrified with the prospect of death at Lord Parashuram, the progeny of Sahastararjun seek Janaka Maharaj, one of the most learned king of Videha who advises them to seek Hinglaji Mata&#39;s blessing.

The clan devotedly pray to Devi at Higloj who is overcome with compassion and assures shelter in her place. Over time, when Lord Parashuram visits this place, he was pleasantly surprised to see Kshatriya clan involved in many Brahminical activities having shed their arms. Hinglaj Mata intervenes on their behalf, and since then the clan disowned arms. Lord Parashuram not only taught them scriptures and Vedas, but also weaving for a living. The clan with a sense of relief then branches out and spread across Sindh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

And where ever they went they continued worshiping Hinglaj Devi. Charan also known as Gadhvi , Khatris, Bhavasars, Barot (caste), and Shimpis of Somavaunsha Sahasrarjun Kshatriya trace their origin to this clan. Some of those who remained in Sindh province later on converted to Islam. Of note, even today they are one of the oldest non-Brahmin clans who had knowledge of Vedas. To this day many works as weavers and tailors.

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Veneration of Hinglaj Mata by Muslims 
The local Muslims, particularly the Zikri Muslims also hold Hinglaj Mata in reverence and provide security to the shrine.

They call the temple the &quot;Nani Mandir&quot; (lit. &quot;maternal grandmother&rsquo;s temple&quot;).&nbsp;Local Muslim tribes along with Hindus make pilgrimage to the Hinglaj Mata shrine and some call the pilgrimage as the &quot;Nani Ki Haj&quot;.Sufi Muslims also revere Hinglaj Mata. The Sufi saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai had visited the Hinglaj Mata temple and it is mentioned in his poetry.

The Sur Ramkali was composed by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in reverence to the Hinglaj Mata and the visiting jogis.There is a legend that the Shah Abdul Latin Bhittai took on the arduous journey to visit the Hinglaj Mata Mandir to pay tribute to the Hinglaj Mata and offered milk to the Hinglaj Mata. It is also believed that after he offered the milk, the Hinglaj Mata appeared in front of him.

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Lord Ram&#39;s pilgrimage to Hinglaj

After killing Ravana, Rama returned from exile to ascend to the throne of Ayodhya. A sage Kumbodhar explained that to cleanse himself of this sin, Rama would have to make a pilgrimage to Hinglaj Mata, the only place that could purify him. Rama followed the advice and immediately left with his army for Hinglaj. Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman also accompanied him.At the mountain pass, the goddess&#39;s army, which guarded the entry to her empire (Sacred Valley of Hinglaj) stopped them and a war broke out in which the goddess&#39;s army defeated Rama&#39;s army and told him that his army must retreat. When Rama sent a messenger to the goddess to inquire why she fought him, she responds that he must return to his first stop, which is now called Ram Bagh, and make the journey again as a simple pilgrim.

Therefore, Rama left his entourage, his army, and vehicles behind and set out to walk to the shrine accompanied only by his closest friends. Rama&#39;s men were devastated at not being allowed to accompany their lord to the goddess&#39;s abode. The Devi thus promised them that their descendants will, at some point in time, all come back to do the pilgrimage.

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For guidance through the harsh desert, Rama called on the pious Lalu Jasraj, a hermit who resided nearby at some hot springs, to be their charidar for the yatra. Only now did the goddess allow the group to cross the pass.After only a few kilometers, Sita became thirsty in the burning desert heat and requested that Hanuman and Lakshmana bring her water. Hanuman tried to extract water from the soil by stomping his foot violently on the ground, but this produces only a dry riverbed.

With the same aim, Lakshmana shot an arrow into the mountain range, but only succeeded in detaching one of the hills. In agony, Sita placed her palm down on the soil and thereby made five wells appear, from which the group drank. These five wells are known as Seeta Koowas. The river followed by a series of five wells reportedly produced either by the power of Sita or by Hinglaj herself. But these landmarks are not seen today.After a physically challenging journey, Rama reached the shrine of the goddess, and the Devi granted him purification of his sin.

To mark his completed yātrā, he carved the symbols of the Sun and Moon on the mountain opposite the temple which can be seen even today.Hinglaj pilgrims before going to Hinglaj go to Khari Nadi, where people take a bath in the ocean and worship Rama.

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