About
Pashupatinath Temple is one of the prominent shrines where Lord Shiva is worshipped as a prime deity in the form of Pashupatinath. Pashupatinath temple stands on the banks of the Shivna River, in Mandsaur city of Madhya Pradesh. The idols of other Hindu deities such as Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesh, Kartikeya, Goddess Ganga, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi and Sage Adyashankaracharya can be seen within the temple complex along with a huge idol of Nandi.
How To Reach:
By Road: Mandsaur town is well
connected with all other neighbouring cities or towns of the state by roads.
Hence, visitors or devotees can easily get road-transportation to reach
Pashupatinath temple.
By Rail: The nearest railway station
is Mandsaur railway station that connects the town to all other parts of the
country. So from the railway station visitors or pilgrims can hire a bus, taxi,
and cabs to reach Pashupatinath temple which is situated only 3 km far from
railway station.
History
The term Pashupati is
derived from the Sanskrit words which mean ‘the lord of the beats’. ‘Pashu’
meaning the animal and ‘pati’ meaning the protector.The history of temple deity
dates back to the Gupta period. The temple is 90 ft in length, 30 ft wide and
101 ft tall. It has a golden pitcher on the top of the shrine that weighs
around 100 kg. The idol was found in
1940 when the water level was low in Shivna River.
Architecture
Inside the temple
premise, the idol is divided into two parts. The section of the deity has four
faces and the remaining four faces can be seen on the lower section of the
deity. The four doors of the shrine open in four different directions. The
striking feature of this temple is the unique Shiva Linga which has eight
faces. The Shiva ling weighs 4.6 about tons.