Bhopal: Fame of “Raj Satta Devi” Bagalamukhi, the presiding deity of Pitambara peeth in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia, as “saviour of politicians in distress” has remained unblemished till date.
The deity, established in the “tapasthali” or place of meditation by a “mysterious” saint Swamiji Maharaj in 1933, has drawn many political stalwarts, such as Bihar strongman Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rajasthan chief ministers Vasundhara Raje Scindia and and Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, to her abode whenever their political career hit a rough patch.
RJD supremo Yadav had arranged a special ritual in the peetha when the infamous fodder scam had threatened to derail his political career two decades ago.
“Mr Yadav could bounce back in Bihar politics despite the scam because of the ‘special puja’”, shrine officials said. “Bagalamukh never let down her devotees,” the priest said.
Similarly, Ms Raje, who is also the president of the trust set up to manage the shrine, had stirred a hornet’s nest when she visited the shrine to perform a “yagna” in the wake of the controversy linking her to the “fugitive” cricket administrator Lalit Modi a couple of years ago.
Shrine officials claimed she got out of the trouble following the “yagna”.
Other political leaders who have thronged the abode of Bagalamukhi in the recent times included former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, who is still struggling for a political space in the state in the wake of growing influence of the Shiv Sena.
Similarly, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his wife Sadhna have been frequent visitors to the shrine, leading, what Mr Chouhan’s followers claimed, him to wriggle out of many difficult situations in the past one decade.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh too visited the temple for early recovery of his ailing wife Veena. In fact, Mr Singh revisited the shrine as a show of his gratitude to the deity when his wife recovered completely.
Devotees believed that the “Ban Khandeswar Mahadev”, a Shiva shrine in the Peetampara peeth complex, traces its origin from Mahabharat era.
Priests of the temple say that the shrine played a key role in seeing India through hard times during Indo-China war, Bangladesh liberation war and Kargil war.
A plaque erected in the peeth mentioned that 11-day yagna was performed in the shrine at the behest of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when China attacked India in 1962. On the concluding day of yagna, China withdrew its troops.
“The peeth is famous for its tantric powers. Raj Satta Devi helps her devotees wield political power by weakening their rivals, mentally and financially (shatrunash).
Rituals in shrine involved recital of a very powerful 36-word “mul (root) mantra”, Chanda Guruji, one of the priest of the peeth, told this newspaper.
“Unlike in other tantric places of worship across India, Peetambara peeth prohibits offering of non-vegetarian food and liquor to the deity”, he added.
Among the BJP stalwarts who have visited the shrine in recent times include Amit Shah, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Uma Bharti. Similarly, Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia have also visited the temple several times.
