India is an abode to many peculiar religious shrines and temples. There are shrines where a motorcycle ‘Bulllet’ is hailed as ‘Bullet Baba’ while at Karni Mata temple in Rajasthan, mice are deemed as a holy being. Likewise, a temple in Raipur enjoys the peculiarity in its own way. In an old vicinity of Raipur, a Shitala Mata Temple is visited by thousands of devotees only to pray to the mantle where the Goddess was kept. Here, the boulder is worshipped as the Goddess itself! And this ritual is not newly set up. Since the 5th century, this boulder is being acknowledged as the Goddess. People believe that 21 Goddesses reside in this rock. Hence, they offer their prayer to the rock itself.
Here, the Goddess is offered with Prasadam and Panchamrita. After seven days of Holi on Shitala Saptami-Ashtami, the rock is worshipped as the Goddess Shitala itself. The temple observes hundreds of devotees during Navratri as well.
According to the chief monk of the temple, the foundation stone of the shrine was laid by Queen Shreemali in her garden. The Queen halted the construction of the temple after she saw the Goddess herself in her dreams. The Goddess was telling her that the boulder itself is the incarnation of almighty. Hence, the boulder is being hailed as the Goddess. After excavation of the site, idols of Lord Ganesha, Shiva and Shani Deva were retrieved.
