Rajinder Chand Anthal
Chenani was developed as capital township of Chenani state in about fifteenth century A.D. Before it, Mantalai used to be the capital of Chenani state. In and around Chenani town, there are many sacred places at various locations in the shape of temples, shilas and samadhis etc.; the Poli Mata represents one such oldest religious glory of Chenani.
In the “Singh Garh” palace of Chenani, there was a large area near inner courtyard and chabacha meant for Devsthan of various gods and godesses, the prominent among them being the THADA of Baba Dadra (Protectorate Devta of palace) and temple of Mata Bhagwati etc. The pujaris were engaged from Shergarh Mohalla for daily Pooja in these small chain of temples representing 33 crore gods. Outside the palace complex, some specific gods and godesses were worshipped at various places for protection of the residents of this capital town and overall prosperity. Major events were organized to please these gods and rituals specific to the deity were performed on every Sunday and Tuesday by offering them ROT and BABRU individually and Jattars and Kudds collectively.
Like other local gods, Poli Mata was also worshipped by all residents of Chenani from very early times and the Mata was believed to be established in nearby Margana Forest, which is visible from Chenani town. The residents of Chenani worship Poli Mata in the form of Shakti. The elders of the family would stand on the top of their houses on Tuesday facing Margana forest to offer BABRU to the Mata after Dhoop Pooja. It was believed that the Mata fulfils all wishes of the people and will save them from evil souls throughout the year. This practice is followed till now by majority of the residents of this historic town.
Though Poli Mata was worshipped believing her presence in Margana forest area, there was no specific temple or place of worship of Mata in Chenani town. It is said that if you worship God with selfless devotion, the God will fulfil your desires.
Keeping this belief in mind, a small girl named Surishta Devi from Chougania Mohalla Chenani devoted herself to the worship of Poli Mata. She had heard from the elders about Shakti of the Mata, so she along with her family members started daily Bhajan Kirtan of the Mata in her Pooja room. Months passed and she continued the Bhakti of Poli Mata with all her strength and devotion.
After some time, the Mata appeared in her dream and narrated her location towards the eastern end of forest check post Chenani. Mata told her that she wants to be worshipped there in a temple and further that symbols of her presence exist there. The girl told about dream to her family members but every body took it lightly as the area was known to them and there were no remains of the temple there. This area was covered with wild grass and thorny bushes. After some months, Mata again appeared in her dream and told her the same location. The girl asked her brother to visit the spot and see whether there exists anything of ancient times. The elder brother of the girl went to the spot along with labourer and Mistri. They cleaned the whole area by cutting bushes and grass carefully after due Pooja on the name of Mata.
In the process of levelling, he discovered a Pindi of stone and one large size Shila buried there. Meanwhile, the marriage of the girl was fixed and one day before the marriage, Mata again appeared in her dreams and asked her to worship Mata at that place.
On the day of Shanti Pooja of her marriage, the girl was taken to the newly identified spot of Mata. The Pindi of Mata was installed on the Shila by Kumari Surishta as per direction of Pandit ji and a small temple was raised there by her brother Gian Chand ji. After Pooja in the Poli Mata temple, the marriage rituals of the girl were performed.
In this way, the temple of Poli Mata came into existence at Chenani. The popularity of the temple reached far and wide and large number of people started visiting this temple regularly. A Mandir committee was constituted and a Pandit was engaged for daily Pooja in the temple. This area was an accident prone area and after the construction of the small temple, this area got filled with sounds of daily Hawan-kirtan leading to positive vibrations.
Recently, the old temple has been renovated by the Mandir Committee and a beautiful temple has been raised there. The Idols of Hanuman ji, Shree Ganesh ji and Maha Kali have also been installed outside the temple, but inside the temple, original PINDI of Poli Mata, installed on the stone Shila remains the source of attraction for the devotees. The temple is visited by hundreds of devotees daily to get divine blessings from the Mata for prosperity and well-being of all.
(The author is former Zonal Education Officer, Chenani)
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