Kalyani Devi Temple, Unnao
The naming of Maa Kalyani Devi, one of the mythological Shaktipeeth Devi temples of the city, has its own history. The place where there is a grand temple today was once a dense forest in which people did not even muster the courage to go.According to legends, whoever bowed his head with a wish at the feet of the Mother Goddess established on a platform in the dense forest, was blessed with good fortune. That’s why mother’s name became Kalyani.
The place in the city where there was a grand temple of Maa Kalyani, there was a dense forest five-six decades ago. People were afraid to go there even during the day.
According to the story heard from the elders of the area, the forest was so dense that people were afraid to go there even during the day. Only shepherds used to go around him. Some shepherds saw a Mahatma coming through the dense forest.Just out of curiosity, one day some courageous shepherds quietly followed the sage inside the forest and saw that the saint was meditating in front of the statue kept under a neem tree. This matter came to the notice of the shepherds and people gathered courage and started going into the forest to know the truth. Gradually this news spread and people cleared thorny trees etc. and made a path.It is said that whoever goes there and worships, his wishes are fulfilled. Due to this, it became common among the people that Mother does welfare. With time, the glory of the Mother kept spreading among the people and gradually the name of the Mother came to be Kalyani. No one is able to tell anything about which period the idol belongs to and how it came here.According to the story heard from the people, several attempts were made to install the idol at another place but no one could lift the idol, then first a platform was built around the same place and then as the devotees kept increasing, a grand platform was built at the same place. The temple continued to be built.
