Those were the days when Shri S.V. Marathe of Akola had begun constructing the Mahamateshwari Savitri Devi Temple on the terrace of his house in Akola. The construction was begun at the behest of Priya Nath.
FROM THAT DAY ONWARDS MATESHWARI WAS TO BE KNOWN AS MAHAMATESHWARI.
Priya Nath wrote to Shri S.V. Marathe:
One day this temple shall become a pilgrimage centre for the country. People shall travel from distant places in India to arrive within its doors. The living presence of Mateshwari, the Divine Mother, shall be felt by all. People shall find a release from their sufferings, and comfort in the fold of the Divine Mother.
A search was begun for a sculptor for the idol of Mateshwari. Shri Marathe desired to procure the sculptor from Jaipur.
The sculptor must be from the sacred land of Akola where such a temple is being made, came the instructions from Priya Nath.
No sooner had this letter arrived when a sculptor was found in Akola itself–a Maharashtrian, as had been the wish of Shri Nathji and Priya Nath.
Maharashtrians had always been very dear to Mateshwari and Shri Nathji. It was only befitting that one amongst them make the sacred image of Mateshwari.
There was Priya Nath’s letter to Shri S.V. Marathe from New Delhi sent at the behest of Shri Nathji, which Shri Marathe kept with him till his last days, and which reflected the feelings of all the devotees about the great work that Shri Marathe had undertaken, which would give peace to sorrow stricken souls.
B/126 Sarvodya Enclave
New Delhi 17
October 10, 1974
Dearly Beloved Bhakta of Mahamateshwari, Shri Marathe,
Anant Shubha Ashirvad to you and all your family members, and especially to Shidoreji who is taking such interest in the building of the temple.
There has been a vision. The temple you are now constructing will, as the years and centuries pass by, expand and grow in structure as well as in fame. Pilgrims from all over the country shall visit this shrine, like the pilgrims that go to Badrinath.
In this temple, the sorrow-stricken shall find peace, the sick shall be cured of their suffering, and the power of Mahamateshwariji shall be felt by all. Bal Ojarkarji’s words that Akola shall one day be a holy shrine for the whole world, shall come true.
You, Maratheji, have put a new spark of devotion into the kindled lamp. While you are building a temple of the Divine Mother in your house, we are building a temple for you in our hearts. Surely your name shall go down in history for your staunch and loyal devotion to Mahamateshwariji.
It has been decided here that the best name for the temple shall be:
Shri Mahamateshwari Savitri Devi Mandir
It is also our desire that a small plate should be permanently affixed either on stone or otherwise, which shall state that the temple was built in the memory of Mahamateshwariji by her loyal and staunch devotee S.V. Marathe. The years and centuries shall see this structure grow into a vast monument of great size. As Birla built the Laxmi Narayana Temple in Delhi, so shall this temple built by you become.
You may keep the photograph of Mahamateshwari you have, for the temple. Search shall be made here for sculptors who are capable of building the statue. However, if it be the Lord’s WILL that this task, too, shall be performed by a bhakta of Maharashtra–for only those with devotion may make Mahamateshwari’s statue–then you shall find the sculptor in Akola itself.
With the choicest blessings of Prabhuji, to you and Shidoreji, and all other Bhaktas. May your efforts succeed.
Priya Nath