Kameshwar Dham/Kavaleshwar Nath Ballia
Kameshwar Dham is situated in Karon village of Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. It is believed about this Dham that this is the same place mentioned in Shiva Purana and Valmiki Ramayana where Lord Shiva had burnt Kamadeva, the commander of the gods, to ashes. Even today there is that half burnt, green mango tree behind which Kamadeva, hiding behind, had shot a flower arrow at Lord Shankar who was engrossed in samadhi.
temple construction
King Kavaleshwar of Awadh had built the temple of Lord Shiva here in the eighth century. Because of which this temple is also called Kavaleshwar Nath Temple. During the Isthmary settlement in the United Provinces, the British Governor General Lord Cornwallis has recorded the lake located near this temple as Kavaleshwar Tal in the government gazette.
It is mentioned in the Ramayana written by Maharishi Valmiki that Maharishi Vishwamitra had passed through this route along with Ram and Lakshman from Ayodhya to protect his yagya. Also spent one night in Kamdavan, the holy place of Kameshwar Nath. According to Valmiki Ramayana, at this very place Lord Shiva had incinerated Kamadeva with his third eye who had unsuccessfully tried to break his penance. The Shivalinga of Baba Kameshwar Dham is believed to have emerged spontaneously.
