Lakhamandal Shiva Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Jolly Grant Airport serves Dehradun and lies about 20 km southeast of the city, in Doiwala.

• By train

  Dehradun railway station is the city's principal station, a terminal of the Northern Railway. The Mussoorie Bus Station is at the railway station, with regular buses to Mussoorie and nearby cities.

• By road

  The temple is on the Mussoorie-Yamnotri road, past Kempty Falls, 128 km from Dehradun. Buses to Mussoorie and other cities run from Dehradun's ISBT near Clement Town.

Why devotees come here

Lakhamandal Shiva Temple is an ancient Hindu temple complex in the Jaunsar-Bawar region of Dehradun district, Uttarakhand. It is dedicated to Shiva and stands beside the Yamuna River in Lakhamandal village.

Devotees believe a visit to this Shiva shrine ends their misfortunes, and the temple is popular among Shaivites. Local people hold that the temple and the adjoining area are where Duryodhana plotted to burn the Pandavas alive in a house of shellac, the Lakshyagriha of the Mahabharata. This is a local belief, not settled history.

The Nagara-style temple was built around the 12th to 13th century CE. Evidence of building on the site goes back to about the 5th to 8th century CE, and a 6th-century stone inscription records a Shiva temple here built by a princess named Ishwara. The architecture is North Indian, the style common in the hills of Garhwal and Himachal Pradesh.

The main attraction is a graphite lingam that shines when wet and reflects its surroundings. Twin statues of Danav and Manav stand beside the main shrine as its dwarpals, or doormen. The Yamuna River flows alongside Lakhamandal village, where the temple is situated.

Tips for your visit

• Locals say the Pandavas hid in Dhundhi Odaari, a cave near the temple that has a Jaunsari name.
• Kempty Falls lies on the same road, before you reach the temple.

Questions people ask