Baijnath temple reconstructed by british as he claims that Lord Shiva saved his life during a war at Afganistan 1879 (Lt. Col. Martin of Agar Malva)………………………..
All we ever heard about British rule in India were destructive and dehumanizing tales, but this one story will move you. When India was under British rule, a regiment of their army under the leadership of Lt. Col. Martin of Agar Malva, was sent for a war against Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. Martin used to regularly keep communication with his wife and family back in Himachal, through letters. During the war, Lady Martin stopped receiving letters and for a very long period, had no news of her husband’s safety. Seeing her in distress, the Indian help at her quarters told her to worship Lord Shiva- the conqueror of Kaal, in the nearby Baijnath Mahadev Temple. When she reached the temple, Lady Martin could hear reverberations of Coonch and Mantras. Upon hearing her fear for her husband’s safety, the priests advised her to perform ‘Laghurudri Anushtthan’ of the Mantra: ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ for 11 days. On the evening of the 11th day, Lady Martin received a message through telegram, which read: “I was regularly sending messages to you from the battle grounds but suddenly the Pathans surrounded us from all sides. We were entrapped in a situation where there was no scope of escaping death. Suddenly I saw a Yogi of India with long hair, carrying a weapon with three pointers (Trishul). His personality was amazing and he was manoeuvring his weapon with a magnificent style.” “Seeing this great man, the Pathans started running back. With his grace our bad times turned into moments of victory. This was possible only because of that man of India wearing a lion skin & carrying a three-pointer weapon (Trishul).” After his return, the couple visited the Baijnath Mahadev Temple to thank the Lord for her husband’s safe return and that is when Lt. Col. Martin realised that the appearance of his savior and that of Lord Shiva’s idol was strikingly similar. They helped in rebuilding the premises of the temple and donated money for its maintenance. The British couple’s name is engraved on the slab inside the temple premises.
Baijnath Mahadev Temple till date remains the only Hindu temple, which has been built by British, during their reign in India.
