Sheela Mata Mandir
Sheela Mata Mandir, Agroha
About 1 Km away from the temple complex of Agroha Dham there was a Madhi (Ancient Temple) of Sheela Mata.Here the local public and Agarwal families from all over India visited for the Mundan ceremony (Head Shaving) of their children and for seeking the blessings of the deity. Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal decided to develop this old Madhi of Sheela Mata into a big temple as his personal contribution to the development of Agroha and started the work of Sheela Mata Shakti Mandir in the year 1982.
After his demise his sons Sital Kumar Agarwal and Vinod Kumar Agarwal & their family members continued the work of Sheela Mata Shakti Mandir at Agroha. His Son sital Kumar Agarwal took upon himself to complate the task of his father Shri Tilakraj Agarwal the made it his MISSION to cpmplate the DREAM of his father.
Sheela Mata Shakti Mandir was built over the Madhi of Sheela Mata. This is a temple of Tri-Shakti. Tri-Shakti means “the three powers” and combined together refers to three Goddesses: Maha Durga,Maha Laxmi, and Maha Saraswati. The three powers also represent the cosmic energy of the three forms of the supreme God. They indeed are the female aspect of the same forms of the God.
In the Main Temple Complex Idols (Murtis) of Ma Durga, Ma Laxmi, and Ma Saraswati are placed. In addition there are 4 smaller temples built around the main temple building of Shri Ram Darbar – (Shri Ram- Laxman-Sita with Hanumanji in bowed position in front), Shri Radha-Krishna, Shri Hanumanji & Shri Shiv-Parivar – (Shri Shiv-Parvati with their sons Ganeshji and Kartikji). There is an idol of Maharaja Agrasen overlooking the entire Mandir Complex as if overlooking his own Kingdom.
The temple was reconstructed with red stone. It has been designed on the Rajasthani Architectural pattern.
There are gardens around the temple complex with beautiful landscaping which brings in hordes of visitors to visit the temple. There is a Guest House annexe in the Mandir compound by the name of Janki Kutir. Many people visit Agroha to see the Sheela Mata Shakti Mandir and the Mandir has become one of the major tourist attractions in North India, due to its architectural design.
Brief Story of Sheela Mata
Seth Shri Harbhajan Shah of Agroha married his only daughter Sheela to Mehta Shah – a minister in the state of Sialkot. Sheela was very beautiful and became the talk of the town. Even King Risalu of Sialkot heard about her beauty. He sent his minister Mehta Shah (Sheela’s Husband) to another state for some official work. Back home he went to meet Sheela and made an attempt to spoil her chastity.
However, Sheela fought the king bravely and protected herself. The unsuccessful king, with malicious intentions, asked Sheela’s maid to keep his ring under the bed sheet of Sheela’s bed. On returning home, from his official work from the other state, Mehta Shah discovered the King’s ring on their bed and thought Sheela to be immoral. He abandoned Sheela, who returned back to Agroha with her father.
After many years, the same maid made a confession to Mehta Shah of her foul deed and vouched for the morality of Sheela. Mehta Shah was grief struck on the injustice done to his wife. He rushed to Agroha to seek pardon from his wife, but died near Agroha before he could meet Sheela. When Sheela came to know about the demise of her husband, she too ended her life and became “Sati”. (The custom of ‘Sati’ was believed to be a Hindu Act in which the woman voluntarily decides to end her life with her husband after his death on his funeral pyre.) A memorial temple with a Madhi of Sheela Mata was built at the site of her death. This Madhi was originally known as Sheela Mata Sati Mandir.
The mandir was named as Sheela Mata Shakti Mandir in accordance to the Tri-Shakti in the temple.
Festival
Every year during the Bhadra Pad Amavasya (September) a big Carnival / Mela is held in the temple area, wherein thousands of pilgrims come from all over the country, many for the Mundan (Head Shaving) of their children. During the month of February, the temple celebrates its Varshik Utsav (Annual Day) during which a ‘Akhand Paat’ of the Ramayana is held culminating with a Havan and Bhandara where thousands of villagers take the benefit of a meal and Prasad.