Neelkanth Mahadev Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Jaipur International Airport (JAI) is the nearest airport.

• By train

  Alwar Junction (AWR) is the nearest railway station. Rajgarh lies on the main train route between Delhi and Jaipur.

• By road

  Rajgarh lies on State Highway 25, close to Sariska National Park.

Why devotees come here

Neelkanth Mahadev Temple stands in the Aravalli hills, deep inside Sariska Tiger Reserve near Rajgarh in Alwar district, Rajasthan. It is the one intact temple among the ruins of an older complex.

Shiva is worshipped here as Neelkanth, the blue-throated deity. Local legend credits swarms of enraged bees with forcing the Mughal army to retreat.

Rajgarh is a town and tehsil in Alwar district. Accounts differ on the temple's age. One inscription is dated 961 CE and names Maharajadhiraja Mathanadeva Bargujar, a Pratihara feudatory ruler, as the builder. A tourism account places the temple in the 6th century.

The temple is built in Trikuta style, with three sanctums. The main sanctum faces west and holds the lingam. Pillars and capitals carry carvings of apsaras, gandharvas and other figures, and Rajasthan Tourism calls the northern architecture and Khajuraho-like carvings a stunning example. Around it lie the remains of about 200 temples, said to have been destroyed by Aurangzeb's army. The temple sits in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve, atop a secluded hill ringed by the ruined walls of Rajorgarh Fort.

Festivals

• Shraavan month of the monsoonShraavan month

  Devotees throng the temple in the peak monsoon season.

Tips for your visit

• The road to the temple is rough, with steep turns and few signs of habitation.
• The temple sits in the buffer zone of the Sariska Tiger Reserve, on a secluded hill.
• Combine the visit with Sariska Tiger Reserve and Rajorgarh Fort, both nearby.
• About 100 metres from the temple stands a large monolithic statue of the Jain Tirthankar Shantinath.

Questions people ask