Shri Hulka Devi Mata Temple located in Moradabad is a symbol of faith of millions of devotees. Loktej Feature News

Moradabad, March 29 (HS). Shri Hulka Devi Mata Temple located at Kapoor Company in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh is a symbol of faith of millions of devotees. This is an ancient Siddha Peetha which is more than 500 years old. Lakhs of devotees come here to worship and offer Prasad during the 14-day Basoda fair which starts from the next day of Holi. Shri Hulka Devi Mata Temple is also known as Shitala Mata Temple.

Mahant of the temple, Pandit Brahmanand Goswami told Hindusthan Samachar that Shitala Mata herself had incarnated at the place of the temple about 500 years ago. After that, a monastery (Chamunda Temple) was built here in which the self-manifested idol of the Mother was installed. Earlier Mahant Giri Baba used to have a place here, later his disciples Bhagirath Das and Hardwar Goswami built a temple from the monastery.

Mahant Goswami told that there was a service camp in the temple premises where most of the soldiers remained ill every day. One day, Sheetala Mata appeared in a dream to the captain of the cantonment and said that if your soldiers worship me along with having darshan of me in my temple, then they will be cured and their disease will be cured. After this, the captain of the cantonment along with his soldiers had darshan of Mata Rani, offered prasad and performed puja. After that everyone started staying healthy. Gradually people came to know about this and the number of people coming to the temple increased day by day.

The next day of Holi, the 14-day Basoda fair starts in the temple from the second day of Krishna Paksha of Chaitra month, which continues till the beginning of Chaitra Navratri. Apart from Moradabad, devotees from neighboring districts, Uttarakhand and Delhi etc. come every year to worship Shitala Mata during the fair.

Apart from Sheetala Mata, Kali Mata, Lord Shri Vishnu, Hanuman Ji, Lord Shri Krishna and Shiva Parivar are established in the temple premises. Devotees coming to the temple worship Mata Rani by offering batasha, pair of cloves, cowries, fruits and flowers along with water etc. as Prasad. The temple priests dust them with peacock feathers. Devotees coming to Basoda fair bring stale food prepared at home a day before, offer it to Mata Rani and then sit in the temple premises with their family and eat it.

Sheetala, the newly married woman, who came to her parents’ home for the first Holi after marriage, offers Prasad to Mata and leaves for her in-laws’ house. Many devotees also come to Basoda fair for the shaving of children. Apart from this, newly married couples seek blessings from the Mother Goddess by offering them Prasad for a happy married life. Shri Hulka Devi Mata Temple was built by Mahant Bhagirath Das, disciple of Mahant Giri Baba and Mahant Hardwar Goswami, disciple of Mahant Bhagirath Das. At present, the Samadhi of Mahant Hardwar Goswami and his son Mahant Sachchidananda Goswami remains in the temple premises.

Mahant Pandit Goswami told that it is believed that the temperature of the atmosphere increases after Holika Dahan. To reduce it, water is offered to Mother Shitala. Apart from this, it is also said that people pacify Holika Mata/Shitala Mata by offering water at the places where Holi is burnt at the intersections and at the Sheetla Mata temple.