In Garhwal division of Uttarakhand, Char Dham are famous like Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. Similarly, Jaganath and Baghnath are famous in Kumaon region. Bageshwar Dham itself is called Baghnath in the local language. Bageshwar Dham is a very famous temple of Kumaon division which is located in Bageshwar district. Which is also pronounced as Bagshyar in the local Kumaoni language.
Bageshwar Dham is situated in Bageshwar district, at the confluence of Saryu and Gomti rivers. Bageshwar district is located in the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand state of India and is 150 km from the capital of Kumaon, Nainital and about 470 km from the capital of India, Delhi. This district is famous for its magnificent natural views, glaciers, rivers and Shri Bagnath Temple. Nileshwar mountain is situated in the west, Bhileshwar mountain in the east, Suryakund in the north and Agnikund in the south. The biggest fair of Uttarakhand is also organized here on the day of Makar Sankranti.
Bageshwar Dham is also the penance place of Rishi Markandeya, who created the Mahamrityunjya Mantra and got the Mahamrityunjya Mantra accomplished by Mahadev, the God of Gods. So let us know today about the facts and the mythological beliefs of Bageshwar Dham, Tapo-bhoomi of Rishi Markandeya.
Mythological Facts of Bageshwar Dham
In ancient times, Sage Vashishtha pleased Lord Brahma with his rigorous penance and revealed the river Saryu. As the Saryu River approached its confluence with the Gomti River, sage Markandeya was engrossed in penance nearby. To ensure that sage Markandeya’s penance was not broken, Saryu stopped there, and within no time the place started getting filled with water. Concerned by this, Sage Vashishtha immediately worshiped Lord Shiva. Pleased with the worship of sage Vashishtha, Lord Shiva himself took the form of a tiger and gave the form of a cow to Mother Parvati. Near Rishi Markandeya, The Tiger came forward to moo the cow, Therefore Rishi Markandeya’s eyes opened. After this, Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati came in their real form and appeared to sage Markandeya and sage Vashishtha and blessed them. After this the confluence of Saryu River and Gomti River took place.
Due to Lord Shiva taking the form of a tiger, this place came to be known as Vyaghreshwar, which with time became Bagishwar and is now known as Bageshwar. In 1602, Raja Lakshmi Chand made an important contribution in keeping the present form of Bagnath intact by reconstructing the present main temple and temple group. The citizens of Bageshwar also have a big contribution in the freedom struggle. Impressed by this, Mahatma Gandhi himself came to meet the citizens of Bageshwar city in 1929.
My Experience at Bageshwar Dham
I went to Kumaon at the end of December 2020. There after Jageshwar, Vriddha Jageshwar, Patal Bhuvaneshwar. I reached Bageshwar. When I was going from my hotel to visit the temple, the aarti of Bagnath ji had started there. And I cannot express in words the divine energy that I experienced there at that time.
I did not stay in Bageshwar for much time, I only roamed around the temple complex. The beautiful ghat of Gomti and Saryu river in Bageshwar and the huge statue of Lord Shiva near the ghat attracts tourists a lot. Talking about the market of Bageshwar, almost all types of items are available in the market which is fine as per the availability. But the availability of meat and liquor there is much greater than that of other places of pilgrimage. I did not like his presence at a pilgrimage site like Bageshwar at all.
