The Story Behind Harsiddhi Maata Mandir
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According to a legend from the Shiva Purana, an ancient Hindu text in Sanskrit, Lord Shiva was greatly disturbed after the death of Sati. Overwhelmed with grief, Shiva decided not to part with her body, carrying it with him wherever he went. Greatly distressed by this action, the rest of the divine community cut her body into pieces, and threw the pieces onto Mrityulok, the land of mortals. Wherever the parts of her body fell, it became a shaktipeeth, or a centre of the female manifest form of cosmic energy, thereby making the place sacred. The Harsiddhi Maata Temple in India is where Sati's elbow fell and thus that temple is very sacred. The Harsiddhi Maata Mandir in Adelphi Maryland adopted our temple's name for the blessed temple in India that Sati, a form of Durga, blessed herself. Sati's death or the ending time period of Durga's form, was destined to happen so that the Harsiddhi Maata Mandir would be established in India and in our hometown of Adelphi Maryland.
