Sachiya Mata Temple
The Sachchiya Mata Temple is located in Osian, near Jodhpur city in Rajasthan. Here the mother goddess Sachiya (also spelled as Sachayay Mata and Sachchiyay Mata), (Hindi: सच्चियाय माता/सच्चिया माता) is worshipped by Maid Kshatriya Swarnakar (Kulthiya families), Marwadi Maheshwari,Mayecha (Maru Kansara Soni From:-Beraja-Kutch). Panwar Rajputs/Parmar Rajputs, Lakhesars Kumawat, Oswal, Charans, Jains, Pareeks [Brahmins], and many other castes living in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and North India. This temple was built by the Parmar King Upendre for his Kuldevi in the 9th to 10th century C.E.
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Hindu Mythological History
The origin of the name Sachiya for the goddess is explained thus: Goddess Sachi was a daughter of the Asura king Pauloma. King Pauloma ruled a great kingdom, and was a benevolent king who sponsored many Brahmins (for example, Shukracharya, who was pursuing research on immortality under his patronage). Vrut (Vritra) was the chief of Pauloma's army, and he wanted to marry Sachi. However, Sachi considered this proposal insulting, as she did not want to marry a servant of her father. Knowing the thoughts of Sachi, Vrut left the service of Pauloma and worshipped Lord Shiva, a common god of the Asuras. Shiva gave Vrut his blessing, and the boon that he could not be killed by any known weapons of that time. Vrut, with his magic, assembled a great army, and with this virtue of immortality, he set out to win the Aryan lands and carve out a kingdom greater than Pauloma's.
It was the duty of Indra, the King of the Gods, to defend the kingdom from Vrut. Knowing that Vrut had the blessing of immortality, Indra approached Sage Dadhichi, for Dadhichi had bones tougher than any known weapon. Dadhichi gave his bones to Indra, by performing a self-sacrifice, and Indra prepared a weapon, known as Vajra, from these bones. (It is noteworthy that the highest award of bravery in India, the Param Vir Chakra, bears the symbol of Vajra.) Since bones had never before been used for a weapon, this defied the condition of immortality for Vrut.
Both armies met on the battlefield to fight, but Indra proposed that instead of allowing the full forces to fight, resulting in huge carnage, he and Vrut alone should fight; the victor would take over the other's army and would marry Sachi. Indra emerged from this challenge victorious.
History According to Jain Records
A stone inscription, at the Jain temple of Osian, gives a different story about the name of Sachiya Mata[1]. According to this story, a Jain monk, Acharya Shrimad Vijay Ratnaprabhasuriji Maharaj Sahib, visited Osian town to perform the ceremony known as Anjan Salakha, at the newly created temple of God Mahaveer, around 43 C.E. The temple of Mahavir had been built by Uhad, who was a minister of King Upaldeo; at that time, Osian was known as Upkeshpur. In the town of Upkeshpur, there existed a temple of Jagat Bhavani (Great Goddess) Chamunda Mata. In order to receive the grace of the goddess, sacrifices of male buffaloes used to be made in the temple, during the festival of Navratri.
When the Jain monk, Vijay Ratnaprabhasuriji Maharaj, came to know about this practice, he felt deep sympathy for the animals sacrificed. Using his influence on the minister and king, he convinced them to ban this practice. The mother goddess Chamunda then became enraged and angry with the Jain monk. He was tortured and vexed by the goddess. However, by virtue of his self-restraint and devotion to his cause against cruelty, the monk changed the heart of the goddess Chamunda. According to this story, the goddess Chamunda herself declared that she was convinced regarding the harmful nature of this practice, and therefore would not accept any offering which carries blood or is symbolic of blood (including red-colored flowers). She also offered blessings for the followers of the Jain religion, so that the cause of non-violence could perpetuate. The Jain monk gave a new name, Sachi Mata (Real Mother) to the goddess Chamunda. There is a temple in Katraj(Pune), dedicated to sachchiya mata (osiya mata), just close to the swetamber jain temple of Katraj. In her temple at the present time, Sachiya Mata-Ji is worshipped with lapsi (an Indian sweet dish), saffron, sandal, and dhoop.
See also
External links
- Pictures of Sachiya Mata Temple, Osian
- Sachiya Mata Temple, Jodhpur
- Jain version of the story about Sachiya Mata
- Jain records and references
- Information on Shri Sachchiyay Mataji (Shri Osiya Mataji) Temple
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