Gangeshwar Mandir/Banganga Mandir Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh
Banganga is an old temple in Shivpuri, which is famous for its 52 sacred kunds. It is believed that this is the site where Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers, shot an arrow in the ground to get water for quenching the thirst of Bhishma which is why it has earned the name Ban(Arrow) Ganga(holiest water body in India).
It is said that during their exile, Pandavas also spent some time in the dense forests of Shivpuri. One day when Kunti felt thirsty, she asked her son Arjun to bring water. Seeing no source of water nearby, Arjun shot an arrow on the ground, a stream of water flowed out from there and Kunti quenched her thirst with this water. Pandavas liked this place so much that they stayed here and also built 52 ponds here. , This place was named Banganga. Tourists coming to Shivpuri are eager to see them. There were a total of 52 ponds from Banganga to Siddheshwar area. These were made of stones. All were 10 to 15 feet deep and rain water could be stored in them. There are ponds on Banganga named after Bhima, Nakul, Sahadev and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Bhim Kund is the largest. The pool of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is narrow and deep.
In Banganga, statues of Ram-Janaki and Radha-Krishna are installed above the inner pond and a temple is built here. There are other temples around the temple. With the installation of Shivalinga and Hanumanji idol in these temples, the entire area has acquired its own religious importance.
There is also an inscription on a big stone near the ponds. The ponds of Banganga contain within themselves the history of the Mahabharata period. The inscription is in Brahmi script. It could not be read but it would have confirmed that this place belonged to the Mahabharata period or even earlier.
