The history of Jwala Ji is steeped in both Puranic legend and historical accounts. According to the Devi Bhagavata Purana, when Lord Vishnu severed the charred body of Sati with his Sudarshana Chakra, her tongue fell at this spot. The flames are believed to be the tongue of the Goddess. Legend credits Raja Bhumi Chand Katoch, an ardent devotee of Goddess Durga, with the discovery of the site.
Following a divine vision, he searched the hills until he found the sacred flames and built the first structure to protect them. The temple's most famous historical intersection involves the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Skeptical of the 'miraculous' flames, Akbar attempted to extinguish them by covering them with thick iron plates and channeling a stream of water directly onto them. When the flames continued to burn undiminished, Akbar realized his folly.
Humbled, he walked barefoot to the temple and offered a golden parasol (Chhatra). However, the Goddess reportedly rejected his prideful offering; the moment he placed it, the gold turned into an unknown, dull metal that was neither gold, silver, nor copper. This 'rejected' Chhatra is still displayed in the temple museum as a testament to the Goddess's supremacy.
Later, in the early 19th century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab visited the temple and gifted the magnificent gilded roof and silver-plated doors that we see today.
