Bagnath Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Pantnagar Airport, in Pantnagar, is the main airport for the Kumaon region.

• By train

  Kathgodam is the nearest railway station to Bageshwar.

• By road

  NH 109K, NH 309A and the Bareilly-Bageshwar Highway pass through Bageshwar, and NH 309A connects the town to Almora. Uttarakhand Transport Corporation buses run from the Bageshwar bus station to Delhi, Dehradun, Bareilly and Almora.

Why devotees come here

Bagnath Temple stands in Bageshwar town in Uttarakhand, where the Sarayu and Gomati rivers meet. It is dedicated to Shiva and is the most famous temple in Bageshwar district. Hindu legend ties it to Sage Markandeya.

Hindu legend says that Sage Markandeya worshipped Shiva at this spot. Here Shiva is known as Bageswar or Vyagreswar. The town of Bageshwar takes its name from the temple, and the Skanda Purana is said to record the temple's significance.

The present building is in nagara style and was built in 1450 by the Chand ruler Laxmi Chand. The Archaeology department of the Uttarakhand state took over the temple in 1996. Bells of many sizes hang around the temple, and its carvings are impressive to see.

A large temple with a conical tower stands where the Gomati and Sarayu rivers meet. The temple is flooded with devotees on Shivratri, and the Uttarayani fair is held every January on Makar Sankranti.

Festivals

• January, on Makar SankrantiUttarayani fair

  Pilgrims bathe at the confluence before daybreak, then offer water to Shiva inside the temple.

• On ShivratriShivratri

  Large numbers of devotees come to the temple on this day.

Tips for your visit

• Chandika Temple stands about half a kilometre from Bageshwar town.
• The Sriharu temple is about 5 km from Bageshwar.
• The Gauri Udiyar cave, which has Shiva idols, is 8 km from Bageshwar.

Questions people ask