The Sītā Māī Temple is an ancient structure situated in the village of Sitamai in the
Karnal district
Karnal district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in North India which constitutes the National Capital Region (NCR) of the country. The city of Karnal is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) and is the administrative headq ...
of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...
in
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
. It is at a distance of 19 kilometers from
Nilokheri
Nilokheri is a town, just 19 km from Karnal city and a municipal committee in Karnal district in the Indian state of Haryana. It has 13 wards. The town is located about 143 km from Delhi on National Highway 1.
Demographics
India cen ...
and lies on one of the alternative routes available to travel between
Karnal
Karnal ( is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. It was used by East India Company army as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. The Battle of Karnal between ...
and
Kaithal
Kaithal () is a city and municipal council in the Kaithal district of the Indian state of Haryana. Kaithal was previously a part of Karnal district and later, Kurukshetra district until 1 November 1989, when it became the headquarters of the K ...
. This is perhaps the only temple in the whole of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
that is solely dedicated to the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Goddess
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
, the divine consort of
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
of
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...
. This temple is under the administration of
Ramanandi Bairagis.
The structure
The temple is made of bricks and the striking feature is the elaborate ornamentation, which covers the whole shrine. The pattern of the shrine is formed by deep lines in the individual bricks, which seem to have been made before the bricks were burnt. This means that the forms they were to take must have been separately fixed for each brick when the temple must have been originally designed.
[Page 226, Report on the Revision of Settlement of the Panipat Tahsil & Karnal Parganah, By Denzil Ibbetson, Published 1883, Printed at the Pioneer Press]
Significance
The temple stands on the spot where the Goddess Mother Earth split open, to allow
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
to repose in her bosom, in answer to Her appeal, in proof of Her sinlessness.
See also
*
Mata Kaushalya Temple
Mata Kaushalya temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Mata Kaushalya, mother of Lord Ram. It is the only temple in the world dedicated to Mata Kaushalya. It is located at Chandkhuri village around 27km away from Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
In 2020 ...
References
Hindu temples in Haryana
Hindu pilgrimage sites in India
Sita temples
Karnal district
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