| Sheetla Mata Temple, Gurugram | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Gurugram |
| Deity | Shitala |
| Governing body | Shree Mata Sheetla Shrine Board |
| Location | |
| Location | Gurugram Village |
| State | Haryana |
| Country | India |
  Shown within Haryana Show map of Haryana Sheetla Mata Mandir Gurgaon (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates | 28°28′42″N77°01′50″E / 28.4783°N 77.0305°E /28.4783; 77.0305 |
| Specifications | |
| Temple | 1 |
| Monument | 1 |
| Elevation | 217 m (712 ft) |
| Website | |
| http://sheetlamatamandir.in/ | |
Sheetla Mata Temple (/ˈʃiːtləˈmɑːtə/SHEET-ləMAH-tə,Hindi:[ʃɾiːˈʃiːtlaːmaːˈtaːˈməndɪr]) is aHindu temple dedicated to the goddessShitala (Sheetla), wife ofGuru Dronacharya who was the teacher of thePandavas andKauravas according to an Indian epicMahabharata. The temple is located on Sheetla Mata Road inold Gurugram (earlier known as Gurgaon) city ofGurugram district in the state ofHaryana in India.
The shrine is visited by large numbers of people duringNavaratri and other festivals.[1][2][3]
The Sheetla Mata temple is dedicated to the wife ofGuru Dronacharya,Kripi (Kirpai), also called Lalitha.[4]
Kirpai, also called Lalita and later Mata Sheetla, used to live in Keshopur village located in the nearby Union Territory of Delhi. Dronacharya her husband used to visit her daily at Keshopur from his Gurugram ashram.
She devoted herself to look after the sick children, specially those suffering from the smallpox. People called her Mata (Mother) out of affection and respect. After her death a temple was built in her honour by the villagers and she began to be remembered as Mata Sheetla or Mata Masani, i.e. 'the goddess of smallpox'.[4]
A legend says that even after Singha had brought and installed the goddess Masani, after her own heart's desire, at village Gurugram, the residents of Keshopur continued to dispute the claims of Gurugram folks. This controversy was put at rest during the time ofBegum Samru, the Governor of Jharsa under the Mughals. Her child who had contracted smallpox was cured after being consecrated in the prescribed manner before the goddess Masani at Gurugram. It was then finally established that the goddess had begun to live at village Gurugram.[4]
The current temple was built in the 18th century by the Hindu king Jawahar Singh in memory of his victory over the Mughals, for which he had invoked the blessings of Sheetla Mata.[4]
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