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One of the major Hindu pilgrimage is the Sheetala Devi
Temple located near a pond at Gurugaon village, a suburb of
Gurgaon (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 Mata Sheetala Devi.
The Legends
There are many legends, which are connected with the building of the
present temple of Sheetala 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 Gurugaon and he pledged to the 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
Bharatpur was proceeding towards
Delhi , he and his
army rested at Vallabhgadh. But the horses refused to move further from
here. The court astrologer was summoned to explain the strange behaviour
of the horses, whereupon it was found that since obeisance was not paid
the goddess after entering Gurgaon on their way, this had angered her.
Thus an elaborate worship of the goddess was arranged and the horses
started moving. The prince pledged that he would build a temple on his
victorious return.
The Queens At War
The third legend also includes king
Bharatpur
. On a pilgrimage to Pushkar, a verbal fight ensued between the queen of
Ajmer and
the queen of Bharatpur, Kishori on who would first jump into the waters.
The men finally took over and it resulted in King Bharatpur attacking the
king of Ajmer, defeating the latter in the process. Queen Kishori was
jubiliant and urged the king to build the Sheetala Devi temple. And King
Bharatpur and Chaudhary Jawahar Sigh consecrated the idol made of eight
metals in this temple.
Time For Festivity
Thousands of pilgrims visit the temple during the Hindu month of Chaitra
corresponding with the months of March and April. The place resembles a
Kumbh-Mela. There is a heavy rush of pilgrims especially on Mondays of
this month Situated near a pond, this temple witnesses hordes 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 sons.
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