Folk story about Emerging Ekeshwar Shiva Temple

(Folk Stories from Garhwal series -125)

  Collected  and Edited -Bhishma Kukreti

(Shri Madan Mohan Molasi of Payasu, Kafolsyun narrated this Folk Tale from Garhwal)

    There is famous Shiva temple and Kali temple in Kafolsyun of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Shiva Temple is also called Mundeshwar, Mundneshwar or Khairaling Mahadev. Khairaling is famous for animal sacrifice in kali temple.

   Ekeshwar hills are  opposite of Mundeshwar hills and in between there is river (Gadan) and the distance might be Mundeshwar and Ekeshwar (Igashwar) would be around 25 kilometer.

  One day, a shepherd was grazing cattle in Mundeshwar hills. He saw that in Ekeshwar (it was not named Ekeshwar at that time) side, a grazing cattle herd was just to fall into hill valley if they were not called to return back. It was clear that cattle herd was without shepherd.  The shepherd from Mundeshwar hills shouted loudly “ Baudi ja re, Baudi ja re( Herd! Return back). However, it was not possible that herd from Ekeshwar would listen the call from Mundeshwar.

   Shepherd from Mundeshwar called many times but it was not possible for reaching his call to Ekeshwar hills.

    Frustratingly, the shepherd from Mundeshwar picked up a round stone and remembered Mundeshwar Mahadev, “Hey Mundeshwar Mahadev! If I am your true Bhakta (devotee), my stone should reach to cattle herd at that region.”

   Shepherd threw the stone and surprisingly the stone fell before cattle herd at Ekeshwar area, the cattle herd changed the direction and retuned back.

    People of Ekeshwar region came to know the fact and they built small stone shed and started worshipping the stone as Shivling and named the worshiping place as Igashwar or Ekeshwar temple. Later on, the people built big temple there. Now, Ekeshwar temple is big temple in the region (Ekeshwar tehsil)

  Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, 2017