Sarneshwar Mahadev Temple located on the western slope of the Siranwa Hills in the midst of stunning natural beauty is a magnificent edifice of the mighty Paramaras. Legend has it that Maharajadhiraja Vikramaditya of Ujjain had darshan of this ancient Shiva Linga and spent time in tapas (penance and austerities) here. The original temple is said to have been constructed by the Paramaras as there is sufficient evidence to show that Raja Bhoja had visited this temple and donated gold and silver.
Locals and even descendants of the royal families revere this temple and worship this Shiva Linga on important days. As per the Puranas, Divine Mother manifests as the holy Ganges at night in the kund on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivaratri every year. It is said that Divine Mother Herself performs the Rudrabhishek with the sacrosanct water.
This astounding event has been witnessed by countless devotees who come from far – flung places to have darshan of Lord Shiva in the sacred city of Sirohi also known as Devanagari. The holy water that manifests in the kund in front of the temple is said to cure skin ailments. Devotees take a dip on Kartik Purnima, Chaitra Purnima and Vaishakh Purnima.
As per the locals, though the original temple is of great antiquity, the Shiva Linga consecrated in the sanctum sanctorum was in fact the Shiva Linga that was taken out of the Rudra Mahalaya Temple at Siddhpur in Patan district in Gujarat by the Muslim barbarian Alauddin Khalji in 1298 CE. Alauddin Khalji commanded his men to desecrate the sacred shrine, loot the treasury, carry away women and children and massacre the Hindu men and cows.
The depraved Muslim invader took the Shiva Linga and wrapped it in cow’s skin and proceeded towards Sirohi where Rao Shri Vijayraj Singh of the Deora Chauhans and ruler of Sirohi launched an attack on the radical Muslim savage.
Alauddin Khalji was defeated decisively and had to part with the Shiva Linga. This Shiva Linga was then carefully installed as per the tenets of the Hindu scriptures in the Sarneshwar Mahadev Temple.
The temple has undergone renovation in the successive years with the installation of Lord Hanuman in the 16th century and idols of Lord Vishnu and 108 Shiva Lingas in the 17th century.
The temple is designed like a fort and has two courtyards with one attached to the main temple. There are decorative elephants of lime and brick at the main gate.
A famous fair is organized on Bhadrapad Ekadashi.
Written by Lakshmi Subramanian
sahasa.in 
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