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Not only Churches, Britishers also built Shiva Temples, read on to find out more

Amisha AmishaAmisha AmishaUpdated 12 Aug 2021 07:10 PM IST
Not only Churches, Britishers also built Shiva Temples, read on to find out more

The British ruled India for hundreds of years and built many churches. But in the 1880s, a Shiva temple at Agar Malwa in Madhya Pradesh was rebuilt by Lieutenant Colonel Martin – the only temple built by an Englishman in India.
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Colonel Martin was in the Afghan wars. He used to regularly write letters to his wife informing him of the situation there. It was a long war, and gradually Colonel Martin's letters wore off. Mrs. Martin, who then lived in the cantonment of Agar Malwa, was terrified of the loss of her husband. She used to ride for hours to pacify herself. One day she rode on her horse and passed in front of the temple of Baijnath Mahadev. Which was in a very dilapidated condition. Aarti was going on in the temple at that time, and the sound of the conch shells and chanting of mantras forced them to stop there. She went inside to see the worship of Lord Shiva taking place. The priests saw the sadness on his face and asked him what had happened. Mrs Martin told her sad story. The Brahmins told them that Lord Shiva listens to the sincere prayers of all the devotees and saves them from difficult situations. He was advised by a priest to start chanting the mantra "Om Namah Shivaya" for 11 days. The English woman prayed to Lord Shiva for the safe return of Colonel Martin and promised that she would rebuild the temple if he came home safely from the war. On the tenth day, a messenger from Afghanistan came with a letter from her husband. It read, “I was sending you letters regularly from the battlefield but suddenly the Pathans surrounded us. I felt there was no way to escape. Suddenly I saw an Indian yogi with long hair, wearing tiger skin, carrying a trident. He had an astonishing personality and began to wield his weapon against the Afghans, and the Pathans fled the field in fear. Due to his grace, the certain death which was averted was averted, our bad times turned into victory. Then the great yogi told me that I should not worry and that he had come to rescue me because he was very pleased with my wife's prayer.

Tears of joy and gratitude welled up in Mrs Martin's eyes as she read the letter. His heart was overwhelmed. She fell at the feet of Lord Shiva's idol and started crying. After a few weeks, Lieutenant Colonel Martin returned and his wife told him her story. The British couple became devotees of Lord Shiva. In 1883, he donated Rs 15,000 for the restoration of the temple. This information is carved on a slab kept in Baijnath Mahadev temple.
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When Lady Martin left for England with Colonel Martin, he said that he would build a Shiva temple at his home and pray to him until the end of his life. What we don't know about the Martins' later life in England!

The local government and Shri Baijnath Mahadev Management Committee conduct all the pilgrimage activities related to Baijnath Dham, Agar-Malwa, including health-sanitation, daily prasad, hostel guest house etc. in a commendable manner.
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The Baijnath Pashu (cattle) fair of Agar-Malawi is quite famous in the months of Chaitra and Kartik. Thousands of pilgrims gather here on every Purnima, Monday of Shravan month and also on Shivratri. The last Monday of the month of Shravan is celebrated as the annual ceremony of "Shiva Swar". Lakhs of devotees come here to attend this rally of Baba Baijnath Ji in Agar-Malwa.

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