Hinglaj Mata temple at Verad to get a facelift

Rajkot: Devotees of Hinglaj Mata, one of the most worshipped deities in Gujarat, will soon get better amenities and facilities when they visit Verad village to pray at the ‘akhand jyot’ (eternal flame), which was brought from Pakistan two years ago.
The state government has decided to develop the 457-year-old temple of goddess Hinglaj near Bhanvad town of Devbhoomi Dwarka district, in a big way. Close to 60 communities in Gujarat worship the goddess and at least 30,000 people visit the temple every year.

Hinglaj Mata is a Hindu deity and one of her Shakti Peethas and temple is located on the banks of Hingol River on Makran coast in Lasbela district of Balochistan in Pakistan. Around 15 devotees had gone to Pakistan in 2016 after years of consultation with its government and temple administration to bring back the eternal flame of the goddess for devotees who can’t visit Pakistan. The flame was installed at the Hinglaj temple in Verad on June 28, 2016.

P P Bhalodia, the temple trust’s president, told TOI: “There is a belief that devotees must visit Hinglaj temple once in their lifetime. People from nearly 60 communities are followers of the goddess. After our repeated requests, it was decided in the meeting of the district tourism committee held in May that the temple will be developed by Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board (GPYVB).”

The temple trust wants the administration to first clear the encroachment on its land and then make facility for the devotees. “We have seen that some temples like Virpur or Dwarka are congested for devotees. Therefore we want the government to develop it considering the future influx of devotees. We want to develop facilities like guest house, kitchen to provide food for all those who visit.”

J R Dodia, collector, Devbhoomi Dwarka, said, “We have decided to develop some of the temples in the district on a big scale and Hinglaj temple is one of them. The funds for development will be released by GPYVB) and we will spend accordingly.”

This temple is equally revered by Muslims in Pakistan who refer to it as ‘Nani Ki Mandir’ and make offerings there. Their belief in this temple is more than Hindus in Sindh province of Pakistan,” said Bhalodia.

Hingula in local parlance refers to cinnabar (an ore of mercury) that was used to cure snakebite and other poisoning. The deity is believed to have the power to cure effects of poison.

Legend has it that in Satya Yuga, Daksha performed a yagna to take revenge on Lord Shiva as his daughter Sati had married him against his wishes. Daksha invited all the deities except Shiva and Sati. Still Sati went to the yagna where she was insulted. Unable to suffer insult of her husband, she committed suicide by jumping into the yagna fire. Furious, Lord Shiva destroyed the oblation site and killed Daksha before carrying Sati’s body around the world. Lord Vishnu severed the dead body with his chakra and the place where Sati's body parts fell came to be known as Shakti Peethas. Hindus believe that Sati's head fell where the Hinglaj temple stands today.