Deities: Mata Sheetla Devi
Location: Gurgaon, Haryana
Significance: Shakti-Peeth
Time For Festivity: Through Out the Year except August, Sept and Nov. to Feb
One of the major Hindu pilgrimages is the Shri Sheetla Devi Temple located near a pond at Gurgaon village, a suburb of Guru Dronacharya's birth place, in the state of Haryana. The temple is thronged by devotees in large numbers throughout the year. Also referred to as a 'Shakti Peeth', the presiding deity of this temple is Shri Mata Sheetla Devi.
Thousands of pilgrims visit the temple during the Hindu month of 'Chaitra' corresponding with the months of March and April. There is a intense rush of pilgrims especially on Mondays of this month Situated near a pond, this temple witnesses horde of pilgrims throughout the year, except during the month of 'Shravana' (July-August). People also come to this temple to conduct the 'mundan' (shaving off the heads) ceremony of their children.
Mata Sheetala Devi is also called as Bhagat Lalita Ma and Masani Ma. In fact the word Sheetala refers to the disease smallpox. And it is believed that if this deity is invoked with faith, she dispels the disease. Among other visitors married couples also come to invoke the blessings of the goddess for a happy married life.
The idol of the goddess is carved out of an alloy and it is gold polished so that it gives a dazzling effect to the idol. The infrastructure of the temple really is worth mentioning. The facilities available in the temple of the Sheetala Devi are numerous. The Satsang Bhawan is a hall inside the temple premise where religious programs, meditation and Yoga programs are held.
The other facilities obtained from the temple are:
Bhandara Bhawan
Prayer Hall
Hospital in the vicinity
Local Guides who are available all the time near the temple
Drinking water facility with six water tanks
Park available for the visitors and Singh Dwar, it is the Administrative Block
Legends:
There are many legends, which are connected with the building of the present temple of Shri Mata Sheetla Devi. According to one legend, a poor carpenter living in Farukh Nagar had a beautiful daughter of marriageable age. On hearing about her beauty, the Mughal ruler expressed his desire to get married to the girl. The carpenter resented giving away her daughter to a person from a different religion and so appealed to King Surajmal of Bharatpur. The matter being outside his jurisdiction, the king refused to interfere. The disappointed carpenter met Prince Bharatpur, son of King Surajmal while returning home who tried to talk it out with his father but to no avail. Consequently, the prince revolted against his father. On his way to attack Delhi, he passed through Gurgaon and he pledged to the Shri Mata Sheetla Devi that if he returned victorious, he would build a proper temple. The prince won and upon his return, he built the temple. There is another version of the same temple. It is said that when prince of Bharatpur was proceeding towards, he and his army rested at Ballabhgarh.
The other legend also includes king. On a pilgrimage to Pushkar, a verbal fight ensued between the queen and the king of Bharatpur, Kishori on who would first jump into the waters. The men finally took over and it resulted in King of Bharatpur attacking the king of Ajmer, defeating the latter in the process. Queen Kishori was jubiliant and urged the king to build the Shri Mata Sheetla Devi temple and King Bharatpur and Chaudhary Jawahar Singh consecrated the idol made of eight metals in this temple.
Festival:
Sheetala Ashtami, as the name itself indicates, is observed on the eighth day of the bright half of Chaitra (March-April) in the honour of goddess Sheetala. The women folk visit the shrine of Sheetala in the morning, after ablutions, and offerings of rice, home made sweets, cooked food and holy water mixed with milk. At several places colourful fairs are held on this occasion near the shrine of Sheetla and there is a lot of merry making, songs, dance, feasting and briskbuying and selling.
Famous Temples in Haryana:
Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Kurukshetra
Panchkula Mansa Devi Temple
Birla Mandir in Chandigarh
Sita Mai Temple in Karnal
How to reach:
by Air: The nearest airport is New Delhi.
by Rail: Nearest big Railway Stations are New Delhi & Nizamudin
by Road: The state transport buses connect Gurgaon to neighboring cities with in the state and in neighboring states.
Visit www.eTirth.com for more information on Temples, Ashrams, Gurus, Festival and Daily Panchangam (Hindu ephemeris).
If you love to read visit www.KathaVarta.org for Religious stories.
Last but not least, if you want to visit above Holy Pilgrimage, please contact and visit our associate partner www.YatraKhoj.com and e-mail at yatrakhoj@yahoo.com.
Location: Gurgaon, Haryana
Significance: Shakti-Peeth
Time For Festivity: Through Out the Year except August, Sept and Nov. to Feb
One of the major Hindu pilgrimages is the Shri Sheetla Devi Temple located near a pond at Gurgaon village, a suburb of Guru Dronacharya's birth place, in the state of Haryana. The temple is thronged by devotees in large numbers throughout the year. Also referred to as a 'Shakti Peeth', the presiding deity of this temple is Shri Mata Sheetla Devi.
Thousands of pilgrims visit the temple during the Hindu month of 'Chaitra' corresponding with the months of March and April. There is a intense rush of pilgrims especially on Mondays of this month Situated near a pond, this temple witnesses horde of pilgrims throughout the year, except during the month of 'Shravana' (July-August). People also come to this temple to conduct the 'mundan' (shaving off the heads) ceremony of their children.
Mata Sheetala Devi is also called as Bhagat Lalita Ma and Masani Ma. In fact the word Sheetala refers to the disease smallpox. And it is believed that if this deity is invoked with faith, she dispels the disease. Among other visitors married couples also come to invoke the blessings of the goddess for a happy married life.
The idol of the goddess is carved out of an alloy and it is gold polished so that it gives a dazzling effect to the idol. The infrastructure of the temple really is worth mentioning. The facilities available in the temple of the Sheetala Devi are numerous. The Satsang Bhawan is a hall inside the temple premise where religious programs, meditation and Yoga programs are held.
The other facilities obtained from the temple are:
Bhandara Bhawan
Prayer Hall
Hospital in the vicinity
Local Guides who are available all the time near the temple
Drinking water facility with six water tanks
Park available for the visitors and Singh Dwar, it is the Administrative Block
Legends:
There are many legends, which are connected with the building of the present temple of Shri Mata Sheetla Devi. According to one legend, a poor carpenter living in Farukh Nagar had a beautiful daughter of marriageable age. On hearing about her beauty, the Mughal ruler expressed his desire to get married to the girl. The carpenter resented giving away her daughter to a person from a different religion and so appealed to King Surajmal of Bharatpur. The matter being outside his jurisdiction, the king refused to interfere. The disappointed carpenter met Prince Bharatpur, son of King Surajmal while returning home who tried to talk it out with his father but to no avail. Consequently, the prince revolted against his father. On his way to attack Delhi, he passed through Gurgaon and he pledged to the Shri Mata Sheetla Devi that if he returned victorious, he would build a proper temple. The prince won and upon his return, he built the temple. There is another version of the same temple. It is said that when prince of Bharatpur was proceeding towards, he and his army rested at Ballabhgarh.
The other legend also includes king. On a pilgrimage to Pushkar, a verbal fight ensued between the queen and the king of Bharatpur, Kishori on who would first jump into the waters. The men finally took over and it resulted in King of Bharatpur attacking the king of Ajmer, defeating the latter in the process. Queen Kishori was jubiliant and urged the king to build the Shri Mata Sheetla Devi temple and King Bharatpur and Chaudhary Jawahar Singh consecrated the idol made of eight metals in this temple.
Festival:
Sheetala Ashtami, as the name itself indicates, is observed on the eighth day of the bright half of Chaitra (March-April) in the honour of goddess Sheetala. The women folk visit the shrine of Sheetala in the morning, after ablutions, and offerings of rice, home made sweets, cooked food and holy water mixed with milk. At several places colourful fairs are held on this occasion near the shrine of Sheetla and there is a lot of merry making, songs, dance, feasting and briskbuying and selling.
Famous Temples in Haryana:
Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Kurukshetra
Panchkula Mansa Devi Temple
Birla Mandir in Chandigarh
Sita Mai Temple in Karnal
How to reach:
by Air: The nearest airport is New Delhi.
by Rail: Nearest big Railway Stations are New Delhi & Nizamudin
by Road: The state transport buses connect Gurgaon to neighboring cities with in the state and in neighboring states.
Visit www.eTirth.com for more information on Temples, Ashrams, Gurus, Festival and Daily Panchangam (Hindu ephemeris).
If you love to read visit www.KathaVarta.org for Religious stories.
Last but not least, if you want to visit above Holy Pilgrimage, please contact and visit our associate partner www.YatraKhoj.com and e-mail at yatrakhoj@yahoo.com.
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