Vijayanathdham Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Katni has no airport. The nearest is Jabalpur, about 107 km from Katni town.

• By train

  Katni is a major railway junction with station code KTE, and the temple is in Katni district.

• By road

  State and national highways run through Katni city, and buses from other cities reach it.

Why devotees come here

Vijayanathdham Temple stands in Barhi, Katni district, Madhya Pradesh, and is one of the district's religious tourist spots. Its Shivling is said to have been found by digging, after a dream showed where it lay buried.

Vijayanathdham Temple stands in Barhi, one of the religious tourist spots of Katni district. Tradition says Shiva, known here as Bholenath, appeared in a dream to a police official named Thanedaar Pandey and showed him where a Shivling lay buried near the temple site.

When Pandey had the ground dug with the help of local people, a Shivling came out under a tree near a drain, some distance from the temple. Locals say it was small when it first appeared, and that it keeps growing larger each year.

Tradition credits the temple's construction to Thanedaar Durga Prasad Pandey, who was posted in Barhi during British rule. A Muslim family of Barhi donated the land, and the official page calls the temple an example of communal unity. A special Shringar Aarti is performed here every Monday, and a Shiva procession is taken out on Mahashivratri.

Festivals

• On MahashivratriMahashivratri

  A Shiva procession is taken out on this day.

Tips for your visit

• The Shivling story is a legend told by locals, not a recorded history, so read it as tradition.
• The temple is at Barhi, not in Katni town itself.

Questions people ask