Brooms for the lord at Shiva temple

Moradabad: When devotees head for a 150-year-old Shiva temple in Uttar Pradesh, they come armed with brooms - not to clean the premises but to offer them to the lord. At the Shivpataleshwar temple in Beehajoi village near Moradabad, some 250 km from state capital Lucknow, people offer brooms in the belief it will appease Shiva and ward off skin ailments, heath disorders and also make their wishes come true.

"The temple is believed to be over 150 years old and the practice of offering new `jhadus` (brooms) to Shivji has been for a long time," Pashupatinath Giri, 56, one of the temple priests, said on telephone. "Though devotees appear in large numbers everyday to offer brooms to Shivji, there remains a huge rush particularly on every Monday as the day is dedicated to Shivji. Observing the Somvar vrat (Monday fast) to propitiate Shiva, over one thousand people throng here every Monday," he added. The brooms are offered to the `shivling`, an icon of Lord Shiva. "Last week my sister-in-law who lives in Kankerbagh colony in Patna, Bihar, visited the temple. She offered two brooms, one in the name of her husband, to Lord Shiva and prayed her mother should get rid off the eczema and skin infection of her toes," said Madhul Sharan, a garment shop owner in the village. The belief that the temple has miraculous powers to cure skin ailments is connected to an interesting story. Locals say long ago there lived a businessman named Bhikaridas, who was the richest man in the village. Though Bikharidas had enough money, he was not happy and always looked for ways to increase his income. "To earn more, Bhikaaridas started neglecting his health and got afflicted by skin problems. The infection gradually became so severe that black patches and eczema erupted on his, leaving him in intense pain," said Banwari Lal Jalan, who has lived in the village for 62 years. "For his treatment, Bhikaridas consulted several `vaids` (traditional doctors), but no one could cure him. Once when he was going to meet one such vaid, he felt thirsty and proceeded towards the ashram of a saint to drink water. "As he entered the ashram, the saint was cleaning the floor with a broom that accidentally touched Bhikaridas. To his surprise, the contact with the broom soon healed him," he added. When he asked the saint about the miracle, he replied he was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. An elated Bhikaridas then asked the saint to take a pouch full of gold coins in return. However, the saint refused and told him he should build a temple at the place where the ashram stood. Following this, Bhikaridas got the temple constructed. The temple is not only revered by locals but also devotees from adjoining districts of Moradabad and other far-off places. "Though people visit the temple particularly to get rid of skin ailments, they also come here to get blessed with a child or get their professional problems solved," said Haridwar Rai, another resident of the Beehajoi village. "As offering brooms has become a custom at his temple, a number of makeshift shops selling brooms have emerged outside the temple`s campus." IANS