Baneswar Shiva Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Cooch Behar Airport, near the town, has daily flights from Kolkata. Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri is the nearest international airport, about 142 km from Cooch Behar.

• By train

  Local trains to Cooch Behar and Siliguri run from New Baneswar station.

• By road

  Cooch Behar town is about 10 km away.

Why devotees come here

Baneswar Shiva Temple is a Hindu temple to Shiva in Baneswar, Cooch Behar district, West Bengal, about 10 km from Cooch Behar. Legend says Raja Banasura, a devotee, made Shiva agree to come down to earth.

The temple lies in the Cooch Behar II CD block of the Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision. Devotees worship Shiva here in the form of Baneswar. Legend says Raja Banasura, a devotee of Shiva, made Shiva agree to come down to earth. The town was then called Gordasandara. When Banasura stopped there, breaking their agreement, Shiva disappeared, and later set up a Shiva linga on the banks of the Bangti River.

Its builder is disputed. Some credit Raja Jalpeswar, others Raja Nilambar of the Khen dynasty or Maharaja Nara Narayan of the Koch dynasty. Maharaja Pran Narayan of the Cooch Behar State later revamped it. The structure is squarish, with a dome and a slightly curved cornice. It stands 10.9 metres high, and its base measures 9.6 metres square.

Inside, the sanctum holds a Shiva linga and a Gouripat, set 3.1 metres below plinth level. An earthquake in 1897 tilted the temple slightly to the east. The temple is a state protected monument, under the Cooch Behar Debuttor Sangstha.

Festivals

• Shiva ChaturdashiShiva Chaturdashi fair

  A week-long fair is held here.

Tips for your visit

• Tortoises locally called Mohan live in the Shiva pukur pond near the temple, and Baneswar is known for them.
• An earthquake in 1897 tilted the temple slightly to the east.

Questions people ask