 |
| Lodheshwar Mahadev |
Lodheshwar Mahadev Mandir of
Ramnagar Barabanki is popular as Mahadeva Mandir in Barabanki and nearby
cities. This Mahabharata time’s ancient Lord Shiv temple is situated in the
village of Mahadeva. It is believed that Lodheshwar Shivling would be more than 5000
years old. This historical temple is situated near the banks of the Ghaghra
River. It is so popular and ancient it is considered among the top 52 Shivlings
in India.
Mahadeva Mandir is the most
popular tourist place to visit in the Barabanki district. This temple is so
famous that if you will ask then anyone in nearby cities of Barabanki like
Lucknow, Kanpur, Ayodhya, etc. about either Lodheshwar Mandir or Mahadeva
Mandir anyone will easily guide you. This temple's actual name is Lodhreshwar
Mahadev Mandir but everyone called it Lodheshwar temple.
Every year lakhs of tourists and
Lord Shiv devotees come here to visit this temple during Mahashivratri and
Sawan month. During the fairs and festivals temple is very crowded and there is
a long queue for visiting Lodhewar Shivling. Temple is always filled with
devotees. Every Monday a large number of devotees come here for the worship of
Mahadev on normal days.
You Should Read: Tapkeshwar Mahadev Mandir Dehradun
History of Lodheshwar Temple
This
Lodheshwar Mandir is so old that its name is mentioned in Mahabharata with
Pandavas many times. Even today a well also exists by the name Pandav-Kup
(Pandav well) here.
It
is believed that the Lodheshwar Mahadev Mandir was originally established by
the Pandavas during the Mahabharata period when they spent some time in the
coastal region of Ghaghra at the time of the unknown. At that time Barabanki
was called Barah-Van.
The
Pandavas remained hidden here for years and they also planted a Parijat tree
which is popular as Kalpvriskh, in the Kintur area near Ramnagar. Mata Kunti
had been worshiped by Lord Shiva at Kunteswar Mahadev Mandir with golden
flowers of the Parijat tree. This Parijat tree was brought by Lord Krishna from
heaven and Arjuna installed it in the ground with his arrow.
As
per legends, Mata Kunti performed Rudra Mahayagya here and formed the idea of
establishing Shiva Linga. So to fulfill his mother's wish Mahabali Bhima
brought Shivinga from the mountainous region of Badrinath-Kedarnath and then it
was established by Maharaj Yudhishthira.
Later
this place and Shivling submerged in the sands of the Ghaghra flood. After some
time, local area villager Pandit Lodheram Awasthi dreamed of Lord Shiva, and
the next day during irrigation of his farm fields found a pit where all water
gets drained into the Earth. Then he tried to find out it but failed.
He
again gets dreamed of Lord Shiva, Lord Shiv said the place is mine and you
have to establish me here. The next day, Lodheram dug that place and found the
Shivling there. Then he established the Shiv temple here.
You Should Read: Famous Private Shiv Temple
Shivling Gets Lodheshwar Name
Lodehram built the temple by using his name first "Lodhe' and Lord Shiv's 'Eswar' and give this temple name Lodheshwar Mandir. After this temple becomes famous as Lodheshwar Mahadev Mandir. This temple is also unique at this point in the name of Shivling on a devotee's name.
Architecture of Lodheshwar Mandir
 |
| Lodheshwar Temple |
Temple
is very old and popular but its building is not so attractive. The main
building of Lodheshwar Shivling is good. The main sanctum sanctorum of the
temple has two gates, one for entry and one for exit. From the entry gate,
devotees come and offer the water/milk, or Prasad to Shivling and moved outside
from the exit gate.
The sanctum sanctorum of the temple has only the main Lodheshwar Shivling that is covered with
silver metal and the surrounding boundary is covered by Brass metal makes the Shivling so beautiful. The Nandi of the temple is situated outside of the main
sanctum sanctorum.
There
are many other small temples of Lord Bhairav, Hanuman Ji, Mata Parvati, etc on
the campus of Mahadeva temple. There is a hand pump inside the temple where water
is only used for the offer to Lodheshwar Shivling.
Did You Know: Where
is Nataraja Temple?
Best Time to Visit Mahadeva Mandir
For
visiting the Shiva temple, Shivratri, and Sawan month is the best time to visit.
But due to heavy crowds, some people avoid that time. You can go on Monday also
at this temple. Monday is also a good day for Shiva devotees.
As
per the season of the Barabanki area, the best time would be February to April.
May and June are very hot here. During July- August due to rainfall
weather becomes good and visitable. From September-October also good weather
here. From November to January there is the winter season.
If
you like fairs then you can come here during Mahadeva Mela which would be the
best time for you to visit this temple. As per time, morning is the best time
for visiting any temple. You can plan the best time to visit this temple
that is suitable for you.
You Should Read: Shri Mahabaleshwar Temple
Timing of Mahadev Mandir
Lodheshwar
temple opens daily for the devotees. You can visit this temple any day and get
blessed. The opening and closing timing of the temple is given below.
- Opening time: 05:00 am in the morning
- Closing time: 09:00 pm in the evening
Temple
remains closed just for one hour in the afternoon for the worship of Shivling
from 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm.
Temple Visiting Time duration
On
normal days if there is no crowd inside the temple and no long queue of
devotees, then you can visit this temple in one hour easily and get Darshan of
Lodheshwar Shivling easily.
During
the Shivratri and Sawan month, reaching up to Lodheshwar Shivling is very tough
for the devotees and there is a very long queue that would be around a
kilometer and a whole day spent visiting Shivling.
You Should Read: Oldest
Shiv Mandir of Lucknow
Facilities at Mahadev
Mandir
- Mahadeva temple has every facility for the devotees.
- There is no parking stand but parking space available outside of the temple.
- Sweet, Snacks, Books, worship items, and Prasad shops are available outside and inside the temple.
- Temple has lots of space for various functions organizing.
- Drinking water and washroom facility also there.
- Temple campus has a CCTV monitoring facility that is very helpful in many things.
Fairs at Mahadeva
At
Mahadeva village, there are two fairs held. One is Mahashivratri Fair and
another is a cattle fair for selling and buying domestic cattle.
Mahadeva Mela
Mahashivratri
Fair at Mahadeva is popularly called Mahadeva Mela. During the Mahashivratri
festival at Mahadeva, a huge fair is organized by the temple committee and local
management. Millions of nearby cities or local devotees come here to visit the
Mahadeva Shiva temple and get blessed. Mahashivratri festival generally falls
in the month of March or Hindi month Phalguni and this fair is running for a
month here.
Kanwar Yatra at Lodheshwar Mahadev
Every
year during the month of July to August (or Saavan month of the Hindi calendar)
lakhs of Lord Shiva devotees from Kanpur, Unnao, Banda, Jalaun, Lucknow,
Ayodhya, Hamirpur, etc. reach here before Shivaratri with Kanwar and Ganges
water to worship Mahadev. Kanwariyas offers Jalabhishek of Lodheshwar Mahadev
on Mahashivratri.
Majorly
Kawariya takes the Ganga water from Kanpur and Bithur and comes to Mahadeva at
Lodheshwar temple. As per legends, Gangajal can be offered to mainly 12
Jyotirlingas and then to Swayambhu Shivlingas. But the Lodheshwar Shivling
considers a very rarest Shivling that's why Kanwariyas come here to offer
Ganga water.
Local
management arranges all facilities for the Kawariya to successfully safely travel
and worship. The administration remains alert throughout the fair and Kanwar
Yatra and arranges the facility for relaxation and refreshment camps for
Kawariya.
Did You Know: Where
is Kalpavriksha?
How to Reach Lodheshwar Mahadev Mandir
Mahadeva
village is situated in the Ramnagar town of Barabanki district in the Uttar
Pradesh state of India. Lucknow to Mahadeva Barabanki's distance is about 62 km.
Lucknow to Barabanki distance is about 28 km. So if you are in Lucknow then easily
visit this temple on a 4 to 5-hour trip. We also visited this temple by our own
vehicle from Lucknow in 4 hours only.
If
you come from Lucknow in your own vehicle then just you have to follow the
Faizabad road straight up to Barabanki and after Barabanki follows
Barabanki-Gonda up to Ramnagar. Total after 62 km then you will get to a railway
crossing and after crossing it there is the main entrance gate of Mahadeva
temple which clearly mentioned the name of Lodheshwar Mahadev Mahadev. You
just enter inside this gate and you will reach within two minutes to the
temple.
If you
come from Barabanki then you have to come to Ramnagar first then you can take an auto Vikram or taxi to the temple. It is just around 2.5 Kms far away from
Ramnagar Chauraha.
By
Road: You will get direct state transport buses for Ramnagar town from Barabanki,
Lucknow, or nearby cities in Uttar Pradesh. From Ram Nagar, you can get a
direct vehicle to the temple.
By
Train: The nearest station to Mahadeva temple is the Burhwal Junction in
Barabanki district is about 3 km from Ramnagar. Mahadeva is about 5 km
away from here. The main Barabanki railway station is about 34 km far away from
Mahadeva.
By
Air: The nearest airport is Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport of
Lucknow which is about 77 km far away from Mahadeva and about 32 km from
Barabanki.
Temple Address
Lodheshwar
Mahadev
Village
Mahadeva,
Fatehpur
- Suratganj - Ramnagar Road,
Ramnagar,
Barabanki,
Uttar
Pradesh
You Should Read: Tourist Places to Visit in Lucknow
TouristBug’s Recommendations
- We will recommend that if you are going first time in Barabanki for visiting this temple then you should plan for a whole day trip and cover all the historical places in Barabanki like Parijat Tree, Kunteshwar Mahadev temple, Siddheshwar Mahadev Temple, etc. All these places are situated in nearby places so you can visit all places in one day easily.
- Temple is situated in a calm area that's environment also good and free from city hustle-bustle. Then you can also sometimes relax here.
- There are lots of monkeys inside the temple campus so beware of them they can snatch food items and your costly items.
- If you are there or live in nearby cities then you should visit the temple once. For once it is a worthwhile place to visit in Barabanki.
- If you want to visit this place peacefully without a huge crowd then avoid your trip during festivals.
- Do not carry your costly items inside the temple during heavy crowds.
- Be a good traveler or devotee and help in maintaining the decorum of this ancient temple to make a spiritual environment.
- Temple is not so commercial, it is simple and all items are at a reasonable rate here.
Tourist Places in Barabanki
Barabanki is not so famous for tourist places, there are only temples and mosques that are so popular in nearby cities. Some of the places to visit in Barabanki are Parijat Tree, Kunteswar Mahadev Mandir, Dewa Shareef, and Mahadeva.