Pradyumnam Srunkhala Devi Temple is one of the eighteen Shaktipeeth. In the district of Hoogly, West Bengal, the Sri Srunkhala Devi temple is situated in Pandua and is devoted to Goddess Durga. However, upon visiting the purported location of the temple today, all that remains is a towering Islamic minaret.
The word Shrinkhala has two meanings. The first one is, a Binding thread or Binding chain, and the second one is a cloth that is used by postnatal women to tie their abdomen tightly. According to the first meaning the goddess is in bounded form. Of course, Jaganmata is bound only to the God Shiva (Satya). She removes all bonds attached to her devotees. In the second meaning, the goddess is in the postnatal stage ( Mother of a newborn baby), in this form, she will see the entire universe as her child. The devotees imagine him/ her as a newborn baby of Shrinkhala mata. A complete surrenderance (Saranagati) and Sishu bhava are required to worship her.
Sati’s Stomach has fallen in Shrinkhala Devi temple. This place is known as Shakti Peethas. Rishyshringa Maharshi worshipped Srunkhala Mata here and got complete blessings from her.
Shrinkala Devi was supposed to be in West Bengal, Hoogly/Hugly district, but as such, there is no temple either. A story tells that the sage Rishyasringa brought Sri Srunkhala Devi to Shringeri in Karnataka.
Currently, there is no temple at the place, a mine was built by Muslim invaders and currently, the place is under the protection of the archaeological society of India, the doors were locked and when enquired the authorities said entry was banned into the temple for security reasons, but there were clear cut and clearly distinctive elements on the main door of the building showing that it was once the main entrance to a Hindu temple, probably from Shrinkhala Devi. There were temple ruins in front of the mining.
Where is Sri Srunkhala Devi Shaktipeeth:
- Some people consider it as Shrinkhala Shaktipith present at Ganga Sagar, in Adinath Kshetra.
- Some people consider that Srunkhala mata is present near Sringeri of Karnataka, brought by Rishyashringa Maharshi, on the order of Goddess.
- Some people consider that the temple is in Chotilla, Gujarat.
But most people accept the first argument. In other words, Shrinkhala mata is in Pandua, near the district of Hugly, West Bengal.
Pradyumnam Srunkhala Devi Temple :
Another supportive evidence about the temple was obtained when we enquired local residents, Every year during Magha masa (Around February) a festival by name MELA TAALA of about 30 days, duration this celebrated in the premises of the Minar which is attended by local Hindus and Muslims communities in large numbers (More than 1 lakh). It is one of the important celebrations of that place.
Another interesting fact is that near to Pandua there is a temple of Hanseswari mata which is regarded as a Shakti peetha.
Taking into consideration all the above facts observed and collected it could be a possibility that it was the place where there was Shrinkhala Devi temple.
Story of Praddyumnam Srunkhala Devi Temple
Praddyumnam Srunkhala Devi Temple was built in the area where Sati’s stomach is said to have fallen. The temple was built by a great devotee of Srunkhala Devi named Sage Rishyasringa.
Rishyasringa was looked after by his father since childhood and was never related to the outside world apart from his father. He had no exposure to the outside world, so he was pure in heart and like a child, who knows no worldly joy.
On the other hand, Srunkhala Devi is a goddess who represents a woman in her postnatal phase and limited by love for the newborn. Rishyasringa had a pure heart to preach to Devi and that is how he became a devotee of Srunkhala devi. Rishyasringa Maharishi devotedly preached to goddess Srunkhala here and was thoroughly blessed by her.
One day, receiving an order from the Goddess, the sage went to visit Shringheri in Karnataka. The goddess Srunkhala accompanied the sage. After some time Rishyasringa also gained Srunkhala power in and around Shringeri Hill. Srunkhala Devi according to the facts was to exist in West Bengal, Hoogly. But, according to one story, a Rishyashringala sage brought the goddess to Shringeri in Karnataka.
There is also a contest in the great epic of Hindus ”The Ramayana” about this sage that he was the one who conducted the Putrakaameshti yaaga for King Dasaradha.
King Romapada a friend of Dasradha adopted Santha Devi who was the sister of Sri Rama. He requested this sage to conduct a yagna to get relief from a very long famine which was relieved after the yagna. At the request of the king, this sage married Santha Devi and conducted the abovementioned Yagna.