The temple of Mata Sheetla Devi is located in Gurgaon village, in the suburbs of Gurgaon, in the state of Haryana. The temple stands by a pond and is often referred to as a “Shakti Peeth”. It is one of the most sacred Hindu pilgrimages of India. Devotees flock to the temple during the Hindu month of Chaitra (March or April). The crowd of devotees is exceptionally bigger on Mondays. Sheetala Devi Mandir is preferred by, devotees for “mundan” ceremonies of their children. The idol is gorgeous and demands respect and reverence. Have you ever been to the temple of Mata Sheetla Devi at Gurgaon village?
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. 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.
Three legends are quoted regarding the building of the present temple. The first and second legend is already posted by Aahna. The third legend goes like this. 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. The fight was as to who would first jump into the waters. The Rajputs started showing their musclepower and King Bharatpur attacked 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. Have you visited the temple?
