Baneshwar Sthan ( Maithili: बाणेश्वर स्थान) is an ancient place believed to be related to the epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

in the

Mithila region Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal, is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothil ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

in India. It is located at ''Barri'' village of the

Benipatti Benipatti is a town and headquarter of sub-division Benipatti in the Madhubani district of the Mithila region in Bihar, India. The native language of Benipatti is Maithili, while the official languages are Hindi and Urdu. In the early times, Beni ...

block in the

Madhubani district Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India, and is a part of Darbhanga division. Its administrative headquarters are located in Madhubani. The district has an area of and has a population of 4,487,379 (as of 20 ...

of Bihar. There is a temple of

Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...

known as ''Baneshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir''.

Description

Baneshwar Sthan is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

pilgrimage site at Barri village of the Madhubani district in Mithila region of Bihar. According to local legends, it is associated with the epic Mahabharata. There is a devine pond known as ''

Banganga The Banganga Tank is a temple tank which is part of the Hindu Walkeshwar Temple complex in the Malabar Hill area of the city of Mumbai, India. History The tank was built in AD 1127 by Lakshman Prabhu, a minister in the court of Silhara ki ...

'' at the religious site ''Baneshwar Sthan''. On the bank of the devine pond Banganga, there is an ancient Lord Shiva temple known as ''Baneshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir.'' According to the believes of the local residents, it is said that ''Baba Baidyanath'' resides at this place for one and a quarter hours''.'' There is a big plot spread over approximately 85 '' bighas'' of land.

Legend

There is local legendary story related to the religious place Baneshwar Sthan. According to legend, it is believed that when

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

were exiled from their kingdom, they came to this place for worship during their ''

Agyaata Vaasa Ajnatavasa (Sanskrit: अज्ञातवास, ''ajñātavāsa'', lit. "living in obscurity" or "unknown abode") refers to the thirteenth year of exile undertaken by the Pandavas, the protagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. This period ...

'' period. According to the local legends, it is said that during the period of the Agyaata Vaasa there was a huge

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

and water crisis in the region. The people of the region were very distressed due to the famine and the water crisis. To protect the people from the crisis of water due to the famine,

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

created a stream of ''

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

'' from the earth with his ''Siki'' bow and arrow. The place in the Barri village where Arjuna created the stream of Ganga became a pond which later was called as Banganga. The people and another living creatures of the village thus got rid from the water crisis. It is said that after the creation of the divine pond Banganga, Arjuna saw

in his dream and then he established a

Shivalinga A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

on the bank of the divine pond which later was called as ''Baneshwar Nath Shivalinga''.

References

{{India-hindu-temple-stub Shiva temples Mithila Madhubani district Shiva temples in Bihar Places in the Mahabharata Ancient India