Sacred Festival of Navratri Concluded with a Grand Satchandi Mahayagya at Holy Village of Khambi in Brijdham

In the village of Khambi, which falls within the sacred 84 Kos region of Braj, the sacred festival of Navratri concluded with the divine Satchandi Mahayagya at the temple of the village’s Kuldevi, Khairadevat Dadi. Devotees from the village and faraway places offered oblations in the fire ritual and prayed to Maa Jagadamba for the welfare of the world.

According to legend, during the Mahabharata war, Lord Krishna had sent his elder brother Balram on a pilgrimage across Braj to keep him away from the war. During this time, Balram measured the entire Braj region in 18 days and established four boundary pillars. Out of these, two have reportedly merged into the earth. One of the remaining pillars is still present in Dauji, and the other is in Khambi, which is slowly sinking into the ground. It is believed that the first circumambulation (parikrama) of Braj was done by Lord Balram himself. According to village elders, the pillar was once very tall, but its present state tells a different story.

During the reign of Aurangzeb, when temples were being destroyed, the ancient idols in this temple were also desecrated—these broken remnants still echo the tales of the barbaric attempt to destroy the Sanatan Dharma. Despite several attempts to erase this pillar, its divine nature and deep foundation into the earth prevented any damage.

Monu Pujari, a young devotee involved in the temple’s service, shared that performing seven circumambulations (parikrama) around this pillar is considered equivalent to one full Govardhan Parikrama, and fulfills one’s desires. It is due to the pillar installed by Lord Balram (Haladhar) that the village came to be known as Khambi.

Located in the Palwal district of Haryana, this village predominantly consists of the Adi Gaud Brahmin community. Daily temple practices include devotional singing (kirtan) and traditional congratulatory dances by women, early morning processions (prabhat pheri) by men and women alike, followed by rituals and aarti at the temple. A unique cultural practice here is that younger women touch the feet of elder women daily as a mark of respect, symbolizing a living example of an ideal society.