The Markandeshwar Mahadev temple is a

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 ...

temple (not to be confused with 8th century temple

Markanda Mahadev, Chamorshi Markanda Mahadev Temple Complex is situated at the banks of the Wainganga River near Chamorshi town in the Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra. This 8th Century Temple Complex is called Mini Khajuraho. The nearest village is Marakand Deo. The ...

), located in the town of Shahabad Markanda, which is situated in the

Kurukshetra district Kurukshetra district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in northern India. The town of Kurukshetra, a sacred place for the Hindus, is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district occupies an area of 1530.00 km² ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. The name Markandeshwar is associated with

Maharishi Maharishi is a Sanskrit word, written as "महर्षि" in Devanagari (formed from the prefix mahā- meaning "great" and r̥ṣi - sage, poet or a singer of sacred hymns), indicating members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, po ...

Markandeya Bhargava Markandeya ( sa, मार्कण्‍डेय ) is an ancient rishi (sage) born in the clan of Bhrigu Rishi (Bhargava Brahmins Community). The Markandeya Purana especially, comprises a dialogue between Markandeya and a sage cal ...

, a great devotee of

History

The Shahabad Markanda town lies on the banks of the river

Markanda river, Haryana The Markanda ( hi, मारकंडा नदी) is a river in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. It is a tributary of the Ghaggar river, flowing through Sirmaur District, Ambala district and Shahabad Markanda, a town in Kuruk ...

, a tributary of the

Ghaggar The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending ...

, and a part of the ancient

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Saraswati River The Sarasvati River () is a deified river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Vedic religion, appearing in all but the fourth book of the Rigveda. As a physical river, i ...

basin system. The river derives its name from Maharishi Markandeya as well and several ancient ''

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...

as'' of Rishi Markandeya can be seen along the banks of the river in the neighboring districts.

Markandeshwar Mahadev Temple

The walls of the Markandeshwar Mahadev temple carry a scene depicting Lord Shiva saving Rishi

from

Yamraj Yama ( sa, यम), also known as Kala, and Dharmaraja is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Yamapuri. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personificatio ...

, 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 ...

God of death.

Story of Maharishi Markandeya

Markandeya was an exemplary son, who was destined to die at the age of 16. He grew up to be a great

devotee Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...

of Shiva and on the day of his destined death he continued his worship of Shiva in His form of Shivalingam. The messengers of

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...

, the God of death were unable to take away his life because of his great devotion and continual worship of Shiva. Finally, Yama came himself to take Markandeya's life away and sprung his noose around the young sage's neck. By mistake, the noose landed around the Shivalingam and out of it, Shiva emerged in all his fury attacking Yama for his act of aggression. After defeating Yama in battle to the point of ''death'', Shiva then revived him, under the condition that the young Markandeya would live forever. Thus, the Maha Mrityunjaya Stotra is attributed to Maharishi Markandeya. The

Markandeya Purana The ''Markandeya Purana'' ( sa, मार्कण्डेय पुराण; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit text of Hinduism, and one of the eighteen major Puranas. The text's title Markandeya refers to a sage in Hindu History, who is the central char ...

comprises a dialogue between Markandeya and a sage called Jaimini and a number of chapters in the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...

are dedicated to his conversations and prayers.Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 12, Chapter 8: Markandeya's Prayers to Nara-Narayana Rishi
Maharishi

is also mentioned in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

Legend of the temple

The Markandeshwar Mahadev temple is supposed to be the place where the young Markandeya was praying to

in order to win over his destiny. This is where

fought with

and blessed Maharishi Markandeya with the boon of immortality. The original temple dated back to pre- Mahabharat times and was founded in the third millennium B.C. The current structure is more recent and dates back to the early 20th century.

Days to visit

Pilgrims turn out to visit the Markandeshwar Mahadev temple in large numbers on Sundays and during the month of

Shravan Shravana Kumara () is a character mentioned in the ancient Hindu text ''Ramayana.'' He is best known for his filial piety towards his parents. He was killed accidentally by Prince Dasharatha. Life Shravana Kumara's parents, Shantanu and Gyanvan ...

, which roughly corresponds to the months of July–August in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

. The temple can be reached very easily and it is located 20 kilometers south of

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

on the

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

section of the famous Grand Trunk Road. A Markundeshwar Mahadev temple also situated near village AJARI, Sirohi road, Sirohi which is 28 km east from Sirohi District and known as one of the oldest temple in the area. 365 days water flowing form the markundeshwar temple. there are three Kund where people also do ''Pind dan.

References

{{coord, 30.1785, 76.8617, display=title Hindu temples in Haryana Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Shiva temples in Haryana