Ambe Mataji Ni Pachedi

Ambika or Ambaji Mata are also names of the goddess derived from the word ‘ambe’ or mother. She is sometimes portrayed riding a lion or a tiger. Armed with a trident, a sword, and a shield, among other accouterments, Ambe Mata is the angry or ‘rudra’ avatar of Shakti and her vahan underlines this fearlessness. Given her mount, she is also referred to as Vaghesari, vagh being the Gujarati word for tiger.
Mata ni pachedi literally means “behind the mother goddess”, and is a cloth that constitutes a temple of the goddess. About 400 years back when people of the nomadic Vaghari community of Gujarat were barred from entering temples, they made their own shrines with depictions of the Mother Goddess on cloth. This ingenuous solution is believed to be the origin of Mata ni Pachedi, the sacred art, which is now revered by all.