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Baneswar Shiva temple is a
Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
dedicated to
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ÉɦaËd̪eËÊ‹Éh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
located at Baneswar in the
Cooch Behar II Cooch Behar II is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision of the Cooch Behar district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Khagrabari, one of the constituent pan ...
CD block in the
Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision is a subdivision of the Cooch Behar district in the state of West Bengal, India. Subdivisions Cooch Behar district is divided into the following administrative subdivisions: Administrative units Cooch Behar Sad ...
of the
Cooch Behar district Cooch Behar district (), also known as Koch Bihar district, is one of the List of districts of West Bengal, 23 districts of the state of West Bengal in India. The district is the part of Jalpaiguri division, Jalpaiguri Division. Cooch Behar ci ...
in
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Here, Shiva is worshipped in the form of Baneswar.


Geography


Location

Baneswar Shiva temple is located at . It is about from
Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...
and is located near Baneswar railway station on the Alipurduar-Bamanhat branch line. It is from New Baneswar railway station on the
New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section The New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section of the Barauni–Guwahati line connects New Jalpaiguri in the Indian state of West Bengal and New Bongaigaon in Assam. History During British rule, all links from the northern part of Bengal and As ...
of the
Barauni–Guwahati line The Barauni–Guwahati railway line connects Barauni, Saharsa, Purnia and Katihar in the Indian state of Bihar and Bongaigaon, Kamakhya and in Assam via Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar in West Bengal. It is a linkage of prime ...
.Koch Bihar Jelar Purakirti (in Bengali), Data compilation and writing by Dr. Shyamachand Mukhopadhayay, published by the Department of Archaeology, Government of West Bengal, Second edition 1974, Pages 52-56. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.


The temple

The beginning of Baneswar Shiva temple is mired in mythology. According to popular belief the legendary Raja Banasura, an ardent devotee of
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ÉɦaËd̪eËÊ‹Éh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
had made the latter agree to come down to earth. When Shiva was following Raja Banasura, the latter suddenly stopped at Baneswar (earlier name Gordasandara), which was a breach of agreement. Shiva instantly disappeared and later established a Shiva-linga on the banks of the Bangti River. Many believe that the place was named after the Raja. However, there is no mention of the temple in the legend. According to some, the temple was built by Raja Jalpeswar, who built the Jalpesh temple. He is believed to have ruled in the second or third century and is mentioned in ‘Jalpesh Mahatya’. Some others think that Raja Nilambar of the
Khen dynasty The Khen dynasty (also Khyen dynasty) of Assam was a late medieval dynasty of the erstwhile Kamata kingdom. After the fall of the Pala dynasty of Kamrupa, the western region was reorganized into the Kamata kingdom when Sandhya moved his capita ...
had built it. Yet others think that Maharaja Nara Narayan of the
Koch dynasty The Koch dynasty (; 1515–1949) ruled parts of eastern Indian subcontinent in present-day Assam and Bengal. Biswa Singha established power in the erstwhile Kamata Kingdom which had emerged from the decaying Kamarupa Kingdom. The dynasty c ...
established it and Maharaja Pran Narayan of the
Cooch Behar State Cooch Behar, also known as Koch Bihar, was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state was placed under the Bengal States Agency, part of the Eastern States Agency of the Bengal Presidency. It was located south of the Hima ...
subsequently revamped it. The present structure is squarish with a dome and a slightly curved cornish. It has two entrances -one on the west and the other in the east. The temple has a
Shiva linga 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 ...
and a ‘Gouripat’ in the
garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...
, below the plinth level. The temple was slightly tilted on the east during an earth-quake in 1897. It has a height of and the base measures square. The walls are thick. There are some decorated narrow strips on the walls. It has a raised platform in the front. There is a bull made of cement on the right. On the northern side there is a tin shed housing idols of Shiva and ‘ardhanariswar’. There are some other idols also, including a
Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
idol in another shed. There is a big pond nearby 'Shiv pukur' which is a habitat of many
Black softshell turtle The black softshell turtle or Bostami turtle (''Nilssonia nigricans''), previously placed in genus '' Aspideretes'', is a species of freshwater turtle found in India (Assam and Tripura) and Bangladesh (Chittagong and Sylhet). It was long believed ...
, a
critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
species of turtle. The turtles are locally known as 'Mohan' and are sacred. A week-long fair is held during Shiva Chaturdashi. This temple is under the Cooch Behar Debuttor Sangstha. Baneswar Shiva temple is a state protected monument.List of State Protected Monuments as reported by the Archaeological Survey of India
.


Baneswar Shiva temple picture gallery

File:Baneshwar Shiva Temple at Cooch Behar District in West Bengal 12.jpg File:Baneshwar Shiva Temple at Cooch Behar District in West Bengal 16.jpg File:Baneshwar Shiva Temple at Cooch Behar District in West Bengal 17.jpg


References

Hindu temples in West Bengal Tourist attractions in Cooch Behar district {{CoochBehar-geo-stub