Mata Naina Devi is a town and a municipal council in Bilaspur district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

According to legends and also written in Veds and Purans , Goddess Sati burnt herself alive in Yagna, which distressed Lord Shiva.

According to the legends, Mahishasur was a powerful demon who was blessed by the boon of immortality by Lord Brahma, but the condition was that he could be defeated only by an unmarried woman.

The Temple of Shri Naina Devi Ji is situated on a hilltop, base of which also has samadhi of bhagat Jeona Morh who died in the early 20th century,[4] in the Bilaspur District, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Sunday, 3 August 2008, proved to be catastrophic day for this temple as at least 123 people died (many of them women and children).

One report states that they were due to people falling down the cliff after the guard railing broke.

[6] This happened in the holy month of Sawan, and the Temple's being a Shakta pitha (place of strength) meant that there were as many as 3000 devotees present.

According to the Times Online, 50,000 people were expected to attend Naina Devi during the day of the stampede, as part of Navaratri (a nine-day festival) which had just started.