panel1.gif (13828 bytes)

  

 a10.gif (41830 bytes) 

  

Located near the excavated Agroha site is the ancient temple of Sheela Mata. The ancient temple has the Madhi of Sheela Mata  

  

  

Brief Story of Sheel Mata.   

Seth Harbhajan Shah of Agroha married his only daughter Sheela to the minister of Syalkot state Mehta Shah . Sheela was very beautiful and became the talk of the town. Even king Risalu of Syalkot heared about her beauty. He sent his minister Mehtashah to another state for official work. Back hom;e he himself went to meet Sheela and made an attempt to spoil her chastity .However, Sheela fought the king bravely and protected herself. The unsuccessful king asked her maid to keep his ring under the bed sheet of Sheela's bed.On  returning from another state Mehtashah discovered the ring on their bed and thought Sheela to be immoral. He abandoned Sheela who returned with her father to Agroha. After many years, the same maid made a confession to Mehtashah of her foul and vouched for the morality of Sheela. Mehtashah was grief struch 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 died. A memorial temple with a madhi of sheela mata was built   at the site of her death.  

The temple was renovated by the efforts of Late Sh. Tilakraj Aggarwal, who established 'Agroha Vikas Sansthan' for this purpose.  

a12.gif (54352 bytes)The temple was reconstructed with red stone. It has been designed on the Rajasthani Architectural pattern. The main dome of the temple is 85ft above the ground. Under the main dome is the Madhi of Sheela Mata. The temple has sections devoted to all main Hindu Gods viz Radha-Krishna, Sita-Ram, Durgaji, Shankar Parvati, Hanumanji, Ganeshji etc. This temple holds great importance among the north Indian temples, due to its architectural design.  

In front of the temple is the statue of Sh. Tilakraj, with whose dedicated efforts the reconstruction work was started. However, he did not live to see the completed structure. Since his death the work at the temple has been managed and taken care of by Sh. Sheetal Kumar, son of Late Shri. Tilak Raj. Sheetal Kumar has converted the Sheela Mata Mandir into a major tourist attraction by beautifying the temple complex with beautiful lawns and fountains. These well maintained landscapes are a feast to the eyes. 

Ever year during the Bhadra Pad Amavasya a big carnival/mela is held in the temple area, wherein thousands of pilgrims come, many for the Mundan (Head Shaving) of thier kids.


Copyright @ 1998 - AGROHA VIKAS TRUST. All rights reserved.