Mankameshwar Temple Lucknow

Getting there

• By air

  Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport is at Amausi, 14 km from the city centre.

• By train

  Lucknow Charbagh, station code LKO, is the largest and busiest station in the city. Lucknow Junction is the second major long-distance station.

• By road

  National highways meet at Hazratganj, and the main interstate bus terminal is the ISBT at Alambagh. Lucknow Metro has run from the airport to Munshi Pulia since 6 September 2017.

Rules to know

• On the first Monday of Shravan, the temple asks devotees not to bring polybags or single-use plastic.
• The temple also asks devotees to limit the use of air conditioners on the first Monday of Shravan.

Why devotees come here

Mankameshwar Temple is a Shiva shrine in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. Its main image is a shivling. A news report calls the shrine 1,000 years old, and on Mahashivratri thousands of devotees come with milk and flowers.

Mankameshwar is a Shiva temple in Lucknow, and the shivling is its main image. A Times of India report describes it as a 1,000-year-old shrine. The same newspaper reports that a 700-year-old Shivratri tradition was set aside in one year, and the jalabhishek, the pouring of holy water over the shivling, was done with water from the Gomti. On Mahashivratri, water from 11 rivers has also been poured on the shivling.

Lucknow is the capital of Uttar Pradesh and the seat of its district administration. The city lies on the Gomti River, which divides the city into the Trans-Gomti and Cis-Gomti parts. District tradition says the town was first called Lakhanapuri, in honour of Lakshmana, the brother of Shri Ramchandra. One legend also links the city's name to Lakshmana, a hero of the Ramayana. This is tradition and not proven history.

Festivals

• Mahashivratri dayMahashivratri

  Thousands of devotees bring milk and flowers, and jalabhishek is done with holy water from 11 rivers.

• Shravan monthFirst Monday of Shravan

  The temple promotes eco-friendly worship and asks devotees to avoid plastic.

Tips for your visit

• For the last stretch to the temple, Lucknow has city buses, taxis, auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws.
• On the first Monday of Shravan, bring offerings without polybags or single-use plastic, as the temple asks.

Questions people ask