01The rishi of the yajna
In Valmiki’s Bala Kanda, Rishyashringa, the young sage raised in the forest, is brought to Ayodhya to perform the yajna for sons for Dasharatha, and from the payasa of that yajna Rama and his brothers are born. The people of the Kosi plain hold that Shringi Rishi had his ashram here and worshipped the Shiva linga that gives the place its name. So couples praying for children come to Singheshwar, and the temple is crowded at Mahashivaratri, in Shravan and on Kartik Purnima.
02The Shivaratri mela
A month-long fair, the Singheshwar Mahotsav, grows up around the temple at Mahashivaratri, with cattle markets, wrestling and folk theatre of the Kosi villages. The temple has long been a centre of Tantric worship too, and its priests keep old rites through the night of Shivaratri. In Shravan kanwariyas bring water to the linga, and on Kartik Purnima families come to bathe and offer before the winter fairs of the Kosi country begin.
About 8 km north of Madhepura town; the Shivaratri mela lasts about a month.
