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1.CONTRIBUTION OF SETH SHRI TILAKRAJ AGARWAL
Agroha was the prosperous and illustrious kingdom of Maharaja Agrasen about 3000 BC. The Agroha Mound, or 'Ther' as it is locally called, is about 1.5 km away from the present AGROHA village. Buried under this mound are the remains of an ancient town and its excavation was started in the year 1888-89. However it was only in 1978-79 that the excavations were re-started in full earnest by the Archaeological Department of the Haryana Govt. It was at this time that people actually became aware of the extent of this great kingdom.
AGROHA is located about 20km North-West of the Hissar city in Haryana and is about 190 km from Delhi (India), when approached via Rohtak on the Delhi-Fazilka National Highway.
Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal was called upon to supervise the development work of Agroha in 1976 by the Akhil Bartiya Agarwal Sammelan under the name of Agroha Vikas Trust alongwith Shri Sri Krishna Modi and Shri Rameshwar Das Gupta. Their efforts were supplemented by Late Master Laxmi Narain Aggarwal who donated the 27 acres of land purchased by Shri Tilakraj Agarwal, Shri Devki Nandan Gupta & the office bearer of Maharaja Agrasen Engineering & Technical Society to Agroha Vikas Trust for the development of Agroha Dham.
Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal was instrumental in building a Dharamshala of 22 rooms to enable people to come and stay at Agroha. Thereafter the development took place in form of a Shakti Sarovar for the collection of water for construction purpose and also thereafter a Temple Complex was planned paying homage to Maharaja Agrasen, Ma Mahalaxmi and Ma Saraswati. The work at Agroha Vikas Trust was funded by the Agarwals from all-over India and the world.
The work at Agroha picked up speed but it had its share of difficulties. There was no water available for the construction and water had to be brought from Hissar about 20 Km away in tankers. For the development to take place water was a basic necessity. Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal was among the people instrumental in getting sanctions from Haryana Government to get irrigation canals built to get water in this area and this in turn further helped in the development of 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. He established 'Agroha Vikas Sansthan' for this purpose and started the work of this temple with great enthusiasm.
Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal did not live to see the completion of his Dream Temple of Sheela Mata as he passed away on 8th January, 1988. 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.With uttermost committment he wholehertedly got involved into the work of upliftment of the Agroha In the GITA, it is said "A ture worker does get success" Seth Tilkraj ji saw his dream being fulfilled through the eyes of his son Sital Kumar Agrawal.
To honour this committment AGROHA VIKAS TRUST also presented him with the SHRI RAMPRASAD PODDAR NATIONAL AWARD On 26 Octobar 1996.Comprising of a Tropy, a shawl,a citation and a cheque of Rupees 1 Lac. However Sital Agrawal has Donated Rupees 1 Lac. back to Agroha Vikas Trust for Beautification of ther Complex at AGROHA DHAM.
The religious Pran Pratishta Samaroh for this temple took place at the hands of His Holiness Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Puri Peeth on 16th February 1992. Shri Chaudhary Bhajanlal Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Mangiram Gupta Finance Minister of Haryana and Ex-Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Banarasidas Gupta inaugurated the Sheela Mata Shakti Mandir.
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.
The temple was reconstructed with red stone. It has been designed on the Rajasthani Architectural pattern. The main architect for the temple was Mr. Harshad Chavda from Ahmedabad. The main dome of the temple is 85ft above the ground. Under the main dome is the Madhi of Sheela Mata.
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.
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.
Facing the temple, with folded hands there is a statue of Late Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal paying homage to the deities present in the Mandir. The idol is an inspiration to the family members and devotees and reminds us of the contribution of Late Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal in the development of Agroha.
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 1000’s of villagers take the benefit of a meal and Prasad.
3.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.
This same Madhi was renovated by the efforts of Seth Shri Tilakraj Agarwal, who established 'Agroha Vikas Sansthan' for this purpose. The mandir was renamed as Sheela Mata Shakti Mandir in accordance to the Tri-Shakti in the temple.
