Deep in the Makran desert of Balochistan in Pakistan, within a cave in the Kirthar hills on the bank of the Hingol river, lies Hinglaj Mata — the westernmost and one of the most revered of all the Shakti Peethas. In the tradition of the Peethas, the crown of Sati's head (the brahmarandhra) fell here, and the Goddess is worshipped as Hinglaj (Hingula), also called Kottari, with Bhimlochan as her Bhairava.
Rather than a carved image, she is honoured as a small stone anointed with sindoor within the natural cave. The annual Hinglaj Yatra across the desert is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan, drawing devotees who revere her as Nani Mandir, the beloved grandmother-Goddess of the western frontier.
