Gandiveshwar Sthan (गांडीवेश्वर स्थान) is a mythological place recorded in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic,

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

. It is a religious tourist centre for Hindu pilgrims. In the Mahabharata, when the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

were exiled from their kingdom to the forest by the

Kauravas ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his w ...

, Arjuna hid his Gandiva bow and all his weapons under a shami tree, which adherents believe is at this site.

Description

It is believed that Arjuna got his famous weapon Pashupati Astra here by meditating to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. He placed a

Shivalinga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , 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. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional ...

here, which is believed to be at the temple called the Gandiveshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir. This place is located at Shivnagar village which is 15 kilometres distance from the sub divisional town

Benipatti {{Use Indian English, date=December 2022 Benipatti is a town and headquarter of sub-division Benipatti (अनुमंडल), in Madhubani district, in the Mithila region of Bihar, India. The native language of Benipatti is Maithili, while 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 2011 ...

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

region in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is historical, religious and cultural heritage of the district. There are many temples in the campus of the Gandiveshwar Sthan. Gandiveshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir and Gaurishankar Mandir are the two main temples in the campus. Gandiveshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir is the temple of Shiva and Gaurishankar Mandir is the temple of the goddess Gauri and Shiva jointly. There are also the temple of God

Kartikeya Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesh ...

Ganapati Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

, Kalabhairava, Batuka Bhairava, Suryanarayana,

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

and some other deities in the campus. This place is very famous for Mahashivaratri and Shravan Somvari festivals. Hindu devotees of Shiva gather here from different parts of the district in Shravan Somvari to Jalabhisheka (जलाभिषेक) and worship the Shiva.

History

Before AD 1962 there was a dense forest near this place, where a huge number of wild pigs were living. In the leadership of Baba Rasbihari Das a very big Yajna was organised at this place in AD 1962. This place was made as Yajnasthali ( यज्ञस्थली ) and the forest was cleaned within the few area there. It is believed that, this is the battle place of the famous Kirat - Arjuna battle in the

came in the face of

Kirat The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim ...

and did war with Arjuna. The war was for hunting of a wild pig. Arjuna threw an arrow with his bow on a wild pig for hunting. Then Shiva appeared there in the face of a Kirat person and he also threw an arrow on the same wild pig for hunting. Subsequently a very extreme war was started between Arjuna and

for hunting and in the last Shiva pleased with the battle skills of Arjuna and appeared in his original costume and awarded the famous Gandiv bow to him.

History of the present temple

The present Gandiveshwar Mahadev Temple was built by the son of Chan Chaudhary from Chanpura Village near the place. It is said that, Chan Chaudhary was childless person of the Chanpura village. He went to Baba Baidyanath Temple for beging a child from Shiva. There he stayed in the hope of a boon of child. It is said that he saw a dream of Shiva. In his dream, Shiva asked him why had you come here, go to Gandiveshwar Mahadev Sthan at Shivnagar near your village and give service to the temple there. Shiva told him that he would always be there in the midnight. Then Chan Chaudhary came to this village to worship Shiva in the temple. He then soon became the father of a child, who later built the present temple of Gandiveshwar Sthan.

References

Places in the Mahabharata {{Hindu-myth-stub Hindu holy cities