Baneshwar Dham

Getting there

• By air

  From Dungarpur town, Udaipur is the nearest airport at 120 km, followed by Ahmedabad at 175 km.

• By train

  Dungarpur town has its own railway station, 3 km from the city.

• By road

  National Highway 8, between Delhi and Mumbai, passes through Dungarpur district.

Why devotees come here

Baneshwar Dham sits on a delta where the Som and Mahi rivers meet, in Dungarpur district of Rajasthan. Its Shiva lingam is believed to be self-created, and the place is best known for the tribal fair held here each year in January or February, which draws a mostly tribal crowd.

Baneshwar Mahadev is worshipped here as Shiva. The Bhil community reveres Baneshwar Mahadev and the saint Mavji. More than half the fair's congregation are Bhils. The Baneshwar fair is described as the Kumbh Mela of the tribals.

The idols were installed in a ceremony on Magh Shukla Ekadashi, and the fair has been held on that day since. On that day, a priest from Sabla, called the Mathadhish, joins the fair in a large procession. Two disciples of Mavji, Aje and Vaje, built the Lakshmi-Narayan Temple near the confluence. A second fair began after Jankunwari, daughter-in-law of Mavji, built the Vishnu Temple in 1793. Over time the fair has come to blend religious fervour with rural festivity.

The Shiva lingam is believed to be self-created and stands five feet high. Its top is split into five parts. The temple stands on a delta formed where the Som and Mahi rivers meet. Tribals from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh gather here to immerse the remains of their dead.

Festivals

• January or FebruaryBaneshwar Fair

  Held two weeks after the Magh new moon. One account gives Magh Shukla Ekadashi as the fair day, another Magh Purnima.

• 16-20 February 2027Beneshwar Fair 2027

  Listed by Incredible India for these dates, organised by Rajasthan Tourism, Udaipur.

Tips for your visit

• Colourful tribal costumes, ornaments and folk dances at the fair are worth seeing.
• Processions, devotional songs and storytelling sessions at the fair retell the region's legends.
• A temple of Brahma stands near the Lakshmi-Narayan temple.

Questions people ask