Shri GauriShankar BaikunthDham Mandir/Baikunthpur Shiv Mandir Baikathpur, Bihar

Baikatpur Dham of Bihar, where Goddess Parvati is present with Lord Shiva in the form of Shivalinga.
The historical and mythological Shiv Mandir of Patna has its own importance. The most special thing about this temple is that along with Lord Shiva, Mother Parvati is also present here in the form of Shivalinga.

The ancient and historical Shiv temple is situated in Baikatpur village adjacent to the capital Patna, which is also known as Shri Gaurishankar Baikunthdham. The glory of this ancient temple is associated with many eras of the past.

The most special thing about this temple is that along with Lord Shiva, Mother Parvati is also present here in the form of Shivalinga, not only this, there are 108 small Shivalingas also built on the entire Shivalinga.

The biggest specialty of this temple is that Lord Shiva and Parvati are present together in the same Shivalinga form. Small Shivalingas are called Rudra and it is believed that there is no Shivalinga like Baikatpur anywhere else in the world.

Baikatpur temple is discussed in Ramayana

In ancient times, this area situated on the banks of Ganga was known as Baikuntha Forest. This village has been discussed as Baikuntha in Anand Ramayana. Lord Shri Ram came to this temple to get rid of the sin of killing a Brahmin by killing Ravana after conquering Lanka. Here he worshiped Lord Shankar. It is said that many years ago there were forests around the temple, where sages used to meditate.

It is also said that to come here, Shri Ramchandra ji had stayed for the night in a village on the other side of river Ganga, due to which the village was named Raghavpur which is currently known as Raghopur in Vaishali district.

The history of this temple is also linked to Jarasandha of Mahabharata. According to beliefs, Jarasandha was a great devotee of Lord Shankar. Jarasandha used to come to this temple every day from Rajgriha to worship. According to legends, it was impossible to kill Jarasandha with the blessings of this Vaikuntha Nath.

It is said that Jarasandha always wore an amulet in the shape of a Shivalinga on his arm. Lord Shankar’s boon was that as long as he had Shivalinga on his arm, no one could defeat him. It is said that to defeat Jarasandha, Shri Krishna tricked Jarasandha by floating the Shivlinga tied on his arm into the Ganga and then he was killed. The place where the Shivalinga tied on Jarasandha’s arm was thrown was known as Kaudiya Bay.

Mansingh’s boat was stuck here

It is said that Raja Man Singh, the commander of Akbar, was going to Raniyasarai with his family by waterway to end the Bengal rebellion. At that time, Raja Man Singh’s boat got stuck in the Kaudiya Gulf.

Even after a lot of efforts, when Raja Mansingh’s boat could not leave the Kaudiya Gulf, Mansingh had to camp there along with his army for the whole night. It is said that Lord Shankar appeared to Rajaman Singh in his dream at night and asked him to re-establish his dilapidated temple. Man Singh ordered the restoration of the temple the same night and then started his journey and achieved victory in Bengal.

Devotees have immense faith in the temple

The immense devotion of the devotees towards this temple shows that the one who worships Bhole Shankar in Baikunthdham with true heart, his wishes are definitely fulfilled. In the month of Sawan, lakhs of people perform Jalabhishek in this temple. Thousands of people collect water from Triveni Kataiya Ghat of Fatuha, Collectorate Ghat of Patna on Sunday and travel overnight to offer water on Monday.

After Vishwanath Dham in Kashi and Baidyanath Dham in Deodhar, this temple is called Babadham of Bihar. Chinese traveler Fa Hien has discussed Baikatpur temple during his visit to Nalanda in his travelogue. Akbar’s commander Rajaman Singh renovated this temple. The present form that can be seen was built by Raja Man Singh only.