- Jageshwar Temple – Masterpiece of Bygone Era

By Bimal Kumar Pande
The Jageshwar Temple, dedicated to Shiva, is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India and Nepal. It is situated on the Almora-Pithoragarh road about 100 kms away from Nainital and 36 kms from Almora at an altitude of 1,870 metres above sea level. It is perched on the confluence of the rivers Surabhi and Nandini (also known as Jataganga), in a beautiful narrow valley hedged by monarch-sized, ancient deodars. The fragrant deodar trees lend an ethereal aura to the site. The temples are surrounded by the lush greenery of Deodar and Fir forests. The musical breeze brings a secluded atmosphere to this temple with a magnificent Himalayan range in the backdrop, visible from Virdh Jageshwar about 3 kms away from the main complex.
Of the 174 small and large shrines of this complex, the three outstanding ones, in terms of sculpture, are dedicated of Jageshwar, Mrityunjaya and Pushtidevi. Jageshwar temple has sculpted dwarpals standing guard at its entrance. Although the presiding deity at Jageshwar is Shiva, a strong Buddhist influence is visible in the carvings. The Jageshwar Shiva temple has special archaeological significance. The architecture and superb carvings reflect the cultural efficacy and Buddhist influence.
This place is renowned for housing 174 temples and has many super statues demonstrating the craftsmanship of the medieval period from 5th to 18th CE. During the 4th and 5th CE when the Gupta dynasty ruled Aryavart, the Kumaon hills were ruled by the Katyuri dynasty, who are said to have initiated the construction of this highly revered temple complex. This medieval centre of Shaivism is considered to be one among the most sacred pilgrimages of Kumaon Region and is said to represent the eighth of 12 Jyotirlingas in India and Nepal.
A legend suggests that Shiva appeared at Jageshwar to escape the melting cold of Mount Kailash. A ritual is performed in the month of Magh to mark the day of his arrival at this place by covering the Lingam with Ghee to protect it from extreme cold.
The Jageshwar temple attracts thousands of pilgrims from across the country and abroad round the year but during Maha Shivrati and Shravan Mela in the month of July and August, the place remains overcrowded with religious tourists. The devotees take a holy dip at the Brahmakunda about 200 metres away before offering prayers at the temples. The administration makes special arrangements to manage the crowd during the Mela.
The building activities continued till 18th century during the Chand dynasty’s rule in Kumaon hills. The oldest temple, Maha Mrityunjaya, and Dindeshwara carry the credit of being the biggest. Jageshwar temple complex originally had almost 400 temples, but at present only 174 exist, which are under renovation by Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI).
The sculpture shed constructed in the year 1995 at Jageshwar was converted into a museum in 2000. It houses 174 sculptures, found in the region from the temple of the Jageshwar group, Dandeshwar group and Kuber group of temples, and are dated from 9th to 13th century CE.
The museum has two galleries displaying the exhibits. In the first gallery are 36 sculptures kept in two wall show cases and wooden pedestals. The masterpieces of the gallery are Uma-Maheshwar, Surya and Navgrahas. The image of Uma-Maheshwar having flying celestials, fully ornamented Parvati is sitting in the lap of Shiva. The beautiful sculpture of Surya holding a lotus in both hands is fully ornamented. Arun (the charioteer) and seven horses are shown on the lower side and the rare sculpture of Navgrahas having Surya, Soma, Mangala, Budha, Brihaspati, Shukra, Shani, Rahu and Ketu are in standing posture.
In the second gallery are 18 sculptures exhibited on the wooden pedestals. This gallery has unique examples of Uttarakhand art known as the Vishapaharanamurti (Shiva drinking poison) of Shiva, Kevalamurti and four armed Chamunda with emaciated body, shrunken belly, protruding ribs and veins, sunken eyes and holding munda in her left hand are the faithful representations of the art of this region.
The central hall of the museum has been constructed to display the main attraction of the region known as “Pona Raja” sculpture and other valuable sculpture of the Jageshwar region. The beautiful sculpture of “Pona Raja” belongs to the local king or cult and a highly popular and respected one in the region.
Around Jageshwar
Almora 34 kms, Vridh Jageshwar 3 kms steep trek.
How to get there
By Road: Delhi-Jageshwar 400 kms, approximately 12 hours by taxi.
By train: Nearest Railhead Kathgodam-Jageshwar 100 kms nearly 5 hours by taxi.
By air: Nearest Airport Pantnagar-Jageshwar 130 kms around 6 hours by taxi.
Accommodation
KMVN’s Rest House and some small lodges.