Sui Mata Temple is dedicated to Queen Sui (Suhi Mata), the legendary queen of Chamba remembered for sacrificing her life so that water could reach the town. The shrine is usually associated with Saho area / hill above the town and forms the devotional focus of the Suhi Mata Mela, a major local fair. Women in particular visit the temple to pray for the well-being of their families and to honour the queen’s courage and motherhood. During the fair, processions carrying the goddess’s image move through Chamba’s lanes up to the temple, accompanied by songs that retell her story.
About this place
History & highlights
The Suhi Mata legend says that when Chamba was newly founded by Raja Sahil Varman, there was no reliable water source at the hilltop capital. A prophecy declared that for water from the Sarota stream to reach the town via aqueduct, either the queen or the prince had to be sacrificed. Queen Sui chose to give her own life rather than that of her son; after her death the waterworks succeeded, and she was deified as Suhi Mata. A temple was built in her honour and an annual mela instituted each March–April, during which only women may participate in certain inner rituals. The story combines history, water engineering and goddess-making: a real act of sacrifice turned into a local Shakti cult, illustrating how Chamba’s people sacralised their civic infrastructure and remembered a queen as both martyr and mother goddess.
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