हिंदीOn this day
Rebuilt

Daksheswar Mahadev Temple, Kankhal

The temple at Kankhal that marks the place of Daksha Prajapati’s yajna, where Mata Sati gave up her body in the sacrificial fire. Haridwar’s tradition holds that Mahadev spends the month of Shravan here.

Built: Site of Daksha’s yajna; temple built 1810 by Rani Dhankaur of Landhaura, rebuilt 1962Where: Uttarakhand (Haridwar district)Deity: Bhagwan Shiva as Daksheswar29.92° N, 78.15° E
  1. 1810
  2. 1962
Photo: World8115 · CC BY-SA 3.0

01Daksha’s yajna

The Shiva Purana and the Bhagavata tell it plainly. Daksha held a great yajna at Kankhal and invited every deva except his son-in-law Shiva. Sati went uninvited, saw her husband slighted before the assembly, and gave up her body in the fire. Mahadev, in grief and fury, sent Virabhadra and Bhadrakali, who broke up the yajna and struck off Daksha’s head. When the devas pleaded, Shiva restored Daksha with the head of a goat and let the yajna be completed. Beside the temple a small pit is shown as the Sati Kund, and the linga is worshipped as the Shiva who forgave.

02The Landhaura queen

The temple was built in 1810 by Rani Dhankaur of the Gurjar estate of Landhaura and rebuilt in 1962. Within the compound are shrines of the Das Mahavidyas and of Ganga Mata, and the Daksha Ghat on the Ganga canal lies just behind. Kankhal is the old town of the Haridwar pandas, and in Shravan, when Mahadev is said to stay at his in-laws’ house, kanwariyas and local families crowd the courtyard every Monday.

The life of this place

  1. 1810Rani Dhankaur of Landhaura builds the temple.
  2. 1962The temple is rebuilt.
Visiting

Kankhal is about 4 km south of Har ki Pauri; the Anandamayi Ma ashram and several old havelis are nearby.

Nearby

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