Divine Possession in India: Temples, Rituals & Stories
Explore divine possession in India: Mehandipur Balaji, Dhari Devi, Bhadrakali's doli, jinn shrines, first-hand accounts and the limits of evidence.
Divine Possession in India: Temples, Rituals & Stories
Divine Possession in India: Temples, Rituals, Stories and Paranormal Experiences What does it mean when someone says a god has entered a human body? Across India, many devotees believe deities, goddesses, and sometimes spirits can manifest through people, especially at certain temples, shrines, and rituals. In this article, divine possession in India means the belief that a divine presence, or a portion of it, temporarily takes over a person's body, voice, or behavior. The traditions vary widely. Some involve drums and rice, some processions, some prayers at a temple gate. Others involve jinn rather than gods. Each comes with its own explanation, and it helps to keep three things apart: religious belief, personal experience, and scientific explanation. They often get blended together, and they aren't the same thing. We'll look at Mehandipur Balaji, one first-hand account of a visit there, reported rituals in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the legend of Dhari Devi, a jinn s…
About the author
Subham Halder is the creator and author of True Horror Feed. He researches and writes about true scary stories, paranormal experiences, folklore, urban legends, mythology, and unexplained incidents, with an emphasis on distinguishing documented info…
