01The Devi who vanished
Alop means vanished. In the katha of Sati, the Peetha Nirnaya says the fingers of her hand fell at Prayag, and the Devi there is Lalita with Bhava as her Bhairava. At Alopibagh the tradition is that the last part of Sati’s body fell here and disappeared at once, so there is nothing to show but its place. Devotees therefore worship a wooden doli, a cradle hung above a small kund in the sanctum, and tie red threads to it with their vows. They untie one when the wish is granted.
02Madhaveshwari and Lalita
Prayag is the Tirtharaja, the king of tirthas, where Ganga, Yamuna and the unseen Sarasvati meet, and its guardian is Bhagwan Vishnu as Veni Madhava. The stotra’s Madhaveshwari, the Devi of Madhava, belongs to that sacred geography. Which present temple is her seat has two answers in Prayagraj: Alopi Shankari in Alopibagh, and Lalita Devi in Mirapur, which the Peetha Nirnaya’s name Lalita favours. Pilgrims at the Magh Mela and the Kumbha often visit both.
Alopibagh is about 2 km from the Sangam on the Daraganj side. The temple is crowded on Navaratri and through the Magh Mela.
