Pashupatinath Temple, Mandsaur

Idol of Lord Pashupatinath in Mandsaur.

Pashupatinath Temple (Template:Lang-hi) in Mandsaur, India is a famous Hindu temple of Lord Pashupatinath with less importance than that of mythologically sacred Pashupatinath of Kathmandu Nepal. Situated on the banks of the Shivna River, Pashupatinath Temple is one of the prominent shrines in the city of Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh. Lord Shiva in the form of Pashupatinath is the principal deity here. The highlight is a unique Shiv Ling with eight faces of Lord Shiva. The shrine has four doors in four directions.

The Shiv Ling in the temple is 2.5 x 3.2 metres (8' x 10.5') and weighs 4,665.525 kg (4.6 tons). It is said that the Shiv Ling emerged from the waters of the Shivna on Monday, which is considered as an auspicious day by the devotees of Lord Shiva. On Sunday, it reached the Tapeshwar Ghat of the river and was placed there. On Monday, after exactly, 21 years, 5 months and 4 days it was incarnated. The day of incarnation of the idol is celebrated as a Mela in the area surrounding the temple.

The temple built on the river is 90 feet (27.6m) long, 30 feet (9.2m)wide and 101 feet (31m) tall. On top of the temple is a 100 kg (45.5 kg) gold plated pitcher. Every monsoon the water level in the Shivna river raises to touch the holy Shiv Ling of lord Shiva. This phenomenon is termed as "Jalaabhishek" which means worshiping god through water.