Thousands of devotees thronged Chitrakoot's famous Raja Matgajendranath temple from early morning on the first Monday of Sawan, chanting Har Har Mahadev as they performed jalabhishek of Lord Shiva with water from the Mandakini river, praying for prosperity and the well-being of their families.
A holy dip in the Mandakini, then a walk to the temple
The crowds first gathered at Ramghat, where lakhs of devotees took a dip in the sacred Mandakini river. After bathing, they filled kalashes and other vessels with Mandakini water and walked on foot to the Raja Matgajendranath temple. Once there, they performed jalabhishek and carried out rituals as per tradition to worship Lord Shiva.
The Lord Ram legend tied to Raja Matgajendranath
The temple's significance is directly linked to Lord Shri Ram's period of exile. According to belief, when Shri Ram arrived in Chitrakoot during his exile, he sought permission from Raja Matgajendranath before living in the region for about eleven and a half years. It is also believed that Shri Ram worshipped Lord Shiva at this very temple and had the Shiva idol installed here himself. Mythology holds that on the sixth day of his exile, Shri Ram installed the first stone Shivling here and offered prayers, and about 14 years later, before his victory over Lanka, he installed the Ramlingam and Vishwalingam at Rameswaram. This history is what makes the Matgajendranath temple in Chitrakoot especially significant.
Four Shivlings representing four ages, in one sanctum
The temple's biggest distinction is its sanctum, where four separate Shivlings sit together in a chaturling form, a layout found in very few temples across the country since a sanctum usually holds only one Shivling. All four Shivlings here rest on a single pedestal, giving the temple an identity unlike other Shiva shrines. Priest Mohit Das said the four Shivlings in the sanctum represent the Satyug, Tretayug, Dwapar and Kaliyug ages respectively, and their sizes also differ in line with the sequence of the four ages. He also said the same temple had its idol damaged by Aurangzeb.
Tight security amid the heavy rush
Given the massive turnout on the first Monday of Sawan, the temple administration and local authorities have put in place extensive security arrangements. Police personnel have been deployed across the temple premises, and barricading has been set up so devotees can queue up in an orderly manner for darshan and jalabhishek. Local belief holds that anyone who worships Chitrakoot's Raja Matgajendranath with a pure heart sees all their wishes fulfilled. It is with this faith that devotees arrived in the lakhs today, standing in long lines to pour water over the Shivling as they awaited their turn.
