Markandey Mahadev Mandir Gaya Bihar
The history of the ancient Markandeya temple is quite old. It is believed that Markandeya, son of sage Mrikandu, had established Shivalinga. Sage Mrikandu and his wife had performed rigorous penance to Lord Shiva to have a child, after which Lord Shiva appeared and blessed them with a short-lived son, whose age was only 12 years. There were three days left for the completion of 12 years. Sage Mrikandu said to his son Markandeya that in three days we are going to part with you. You worship Lord Shiva. Markandeya kept doing penance holding the Shivalinga. As soon as the time was over, Yamraj came to take his life, but despite repeated attempts, he failed. Lord Shiva appeared and told Yamraj that he is engrossed in his penance. You cannot kill it. After this Markandeya got the boon of voluntary death. It was Markandeya who established Shivalinga.
