A large number of devotees throng to Lord Shiva temples during the auspicious month of Sawan, but there is also a temple in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur where no devotee could pay obeisance during the holy month.

Situated in the middle of the Bagmati river, Baba Dhaneshwar Nath temple in Dhanora village of Muzaffarpur gets submerged as the water level of the river rises in the Sawan month. The river does the ‘Jal Abhishek’ of Lord Shiva throughout the holy month and devotees, who wish to offer water to the Lord, pour it into the river. 

Devotees from neighbouring country Nepal also throng here to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva. 

Temple priest Shankar Kumar alias Dani tells IANS that this temple is very ancient. Dani, who is engaged in the service of the temple since childhood, says that it is said that once an attempt was made to establish the Shivling of this temple outside the river, but the last end of the Shivling could not be found.

He said that earlier the temple was small, later with the help of the local people, a bigger temple was built here.

The temple is accessible for six months and a boat is kept for the maintenance of the temple, the priest said.

A local person, Amit Sharma said that every year many houses, bridges and huts are washed away in the Bagmati river, but till date, no damage has been done to the temple. Every year half of the temple remains submerged in water for about two to three months.

When the water level of the river is low, the devotees visit the temple by boat. But, when the water level rises, it is not possible to visit the temple even by boat.

During monsoon, the Shivling in the temple gets submerged under eight to ten feet of water. 

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)