Bateshwar Temples Agra

Getting there

• By air

  Agra Airport and Gwalior Airport are the two nearest domestic airports with regular scheduled flights.

• By train

  Bateshwar Halt is a small halt station. Shikohabad Junction, 23 km away, is the nearest major station.

• By road

  The Agra to Bah road passes through the town. Bateshwar lies between Agra and Etawah, about 70 km from Agra and 8 km from Bah.

Why devotees come here

Bateshwar is a village in Agra district on the bank of the Yamuna. It is known for the 101 Shiv Temple Complex and is a spiritual centre for both Hindus and Jains. The main shrine is Bateshwarnath Mahadev.

The village takes its name from the main Bateshwarnath Temple, which is dedicated to Shiva. Legend says Shiva rested here for a while under a banyan tree, and that the tree still stands. Bat is the Sanskrit word for banyan.

The complex is known for its 101 Shiva temples, built on a dam on the Yamuna bank by Raja Badan Singh Bhadauria. Bateshwar is also believed to be the Shouripur of the Mahabharat, the city of King Suresaine. Reaching the temples feels like passing between the sand dunes of Chambal, and the area is less populated. The animal fair held here each Diwali is known worldwide.

The place matters to Jains as well. Shouripur, near Bateshwar, is the birthplace of Neminath, the 22nd Jain Tirthankar, and has a Digambar Jain Siddha Kshetra.

Festivals

• During Diwali, October and NovemberBateshwar animal fair

  Said to have begun 500 years ago, when armies came to buy and sell horses, camels and elephants. It is called the second largest animal fair in India after Sonepur in Bihar.

Tips for your visit

• Visit Shouripur nearby to see the Digambar Jain Siddha Kshetra and Baruva Matha, the most ancient temple there.
• Bateshwar is the ancestral village of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Questions people ask