Stambheshwar To Nishkalank-Top Five Mysterious Shiva Temples In India

India is the land of 64 crore gods and goddesses and thus it’s natural to say that it is the land to find great ancient temples. Take a look at the Indian history dating thousands of years back and you would be memorized to know popular legends and mysteries related to these such temples. The list of such unique Indian temples goes on and on and the stories are sure to make you a true love of India. As Maha Shivratri is around the corners, here we bring you the list of the top five mysterious Shiva Temples you should definitely know about it and consider visiting once in a lifestime. The list includes Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple, Nishkalank Mahadev Temple, Achaleshwar Mahadev Temple, and the other two. Check out the details about the origins of these temples, popular legends about them, and why these temples are mysterious.

Top Five Mysterious Shiva Temples In India:

Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple

Don’t be surprised if we say that the Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple dates back 150 years when it was built. This is one of the oldest Shiva temples in India, which is exactly located in the Kavi Kamboi town of Gujarat. Visitors believe that Lord Shiva plays hide and seek (because the Shiva Lingam gets submerged in the water completely and soon appears to be glued to its place). Although the architecture is nothing extravaganza, its mysterious behaviors makes it one of the wonderful temples in India. It is located betwixt the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Cambay. Whenever there is a highlight in the sea the Lingam disappears and whenever the water level decreases the Lingam appears to be around 4 feet high. To visit this temple worshippers need to decide on a proper timing when the water level is low and it is safe for them.

Legend Behind Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple:

As per Indian mythology, the water that touches the Shiv Lingam is the holy water and the worshippers take home this water. Many also believe that this water cures certain ailments. As per the legends, Lord Shiva was first worshipped here in the form of a Lingam. A demon named, Tarakasura repeatedly defeated few gods until heaven was on the verge of collapse and he did this after getting a boon from Lord Shiva. He cleverly got the boon from Shiva that he could only be killed by a six-day-old child. Soon Lord Shiva’s son, Kartikeya had to kill Tara to save others. However, upon killing one of the devotees of Lord Shiva, Kartikeya was guilt. Then Lord Vishnu consoled Kartikeya suggesting him to build a Shiva Lingam at the same place where he killed Tarakasura. That’s how Lord Kartikeya prays for forgiveness from his father.

Nishkalank Mahadev Temple

What’s more surprising about Indian temples is the fact that they are found almost everywhere from the top of the hill to under waterfalls, under the caves to across the seashores. As per Hindu mythology, the Nishkalank Mahadev temple was built by the Pandav brothers and thus it can be logically believed to have been built during the Mahabharath era. This temple is located in Bhavnagar and it completely gets submerged whenever there is a high tight in the sea. Worshippers visit this temple with the believe that it washes away their sins.

Legend Behind Nishkalank Mahadev Temple:

The Pandavas who were looking for absolving their sins had apparently built this Shiva Lingam. This shrine is 2km inside the sea. According to Indian mythology, the Pandava brothers built this temple right after the Kurukshetra war.
After the great victory of Pandavas in the Mahabharata war, they started feeling guilty for killing hundreds of their own relatives. To absolve these sins of violent killing, they built this temple. What’s more mysterious is the way these temple was built with an advanced archeology and the techniques with which it was built. Visitors at this temple would  have surely wondered about how people from that era managed to build temple with advances technology that we even today don’t know.

Achaleshwar Mahadev Temple

The Achaleshwar Mahadev Temple is known for mesmerising the visitors with its color changing phenomenon.
The temple is located in Achal Gadh, Rajasthan which is at the mare distance from the Maharana Pratap Airport of Udaipur. This temple was built in the 9th century by the Parmar Dynasty, which makes it 2500 year old temple. However, it said to have rebuilt by Maharana Khumbh and he named it as Achalgarh temple. Visitors at this this temple especially worship the thumb of Lord Shiva’s feet. The temple also have a huge Nandi inside which =weights around 4 tons and it is made up of five different metals. The Shivling located inside the temple changes its color thrice a day i.e. red in morning,  saffron in the afternoon and whitish grey in the evening and no one ever could discover the reason why the Shiv lingam changes its color. Bachelors mostly come here to worship for their marriages.

Legends Behind Achaleshwar Mahadev Temple:

In the Sanctum of the Achaleshwar Mahadev temple there is a semi-round pit, which is believed to be the impressions of Right Toe of Lord Shiva. This is the first of kind Lord Shiva’s toe impressions in the world and it is worshipped with great beliefs. Surprisingly after people offer the water to the Shivalingam, it goes deeper and deeper. Till today no one could discover the actual root wherein the water flows in. As per the stories, when Maharana Khumbh found about this beautiful phenomenon he had appointed around six people to pour in water in the temple for apparently few days. He was later astonished to find that the water just kept going in and there was no traces of where it goes. As per the legends, the water goes to the netherworld (Patal Lok).

Laxmaneshwar Mahadev Temple

We can simply guess who would have built this temple just by its name. As per the stories the Laxmaneshwar Mahadev Temple was built by Lord Ram’s younger brother, Laxman. This magnificent temple dates back to 625-650 AD and it is located in Sirpur(Chhattisgarh). It is called as the Kharaud Temple, because as per the Indian mythology, Lord Ram killed two demons named here named Khar and Dushan Sanghar. Laxman established a unique Shivling here after they killed Raavan. What makes is most mysterious temple among all? Well, there are one
lakh holes in the Shivling and worshippers believe by offering 1.25 lakh rice grains they can fulfill their wishes.

It is believed that the Shiv Lingam which is present inside the sanctum of the Laxmaneshwar Mahadev temple was found by Laxman himself. There is one lakh holes in this Shivling and thus the name Lakalinga. What’s more mesmerising about this temple is that when the worshipper pours in the water, it all gets absorbed. The Laxling is about 30 feet above the ground and is also considered as Swayambhu Lingam.

Bijli Mahadev Temple

One of the sacred temples in India the Bijli Mahadev temple is located at an high altitude of 2,460m in the Kullu Valley(Himachal Pradesh). The temple consists of a Shiva lingam which frequently gets struck by lightning in the sky. The Shivling after getting struck with lightening gets shattered into pieces. The priests who take care of the temple simply collect the shatter pieces and bind it together with cereals and pulse flour along with unsalted butter. Bijli which translates to lightning has got an alternative name for the Lord Shiva’s temple.

Legends Behind Bijli Mahadev Temple:

As per the Indian mythology, Vasishtha urges Lord Shiva to save earthlings from the lightening’s. When Shiva consults this issue with Lord Indradev, the kind of heaven then informed Shiva that lightening is a natural phenomena and it is much needed for earth carrying on its natural working. Lord Shiva then came up with a solution and he informed Lord Indradev to do the lightening on the lingam that he would be placing on a mountain in Bundar village of Himachal Pradesh. It is believed that every 12 year the lightening struck the Shivalinga, while it shatters the Lingam it doesn’t affects the surroundings of the temple.

Which of the Shiv Temple are you planning to visit anytime soon? Do let us know.

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