Devanagari महेश्वरनाथ मंदिर Marathi महेश्वरनाथ मंदिर | Tamil மகேஷ்வர்நாத் கோவில் Bengali মহেশ্বরনাথ মন্দির District Pamplemousses Opened 1891 Year established 1888 Number of temples 7 | |
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Similar Ganga Talao, Black River Gorges National, Blue Penny Museum, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgool, L'Aventure du Sucre | ||
Maheswarnath mandir
Maheswarnath Mandir (locally known as "grand shivala Triolet") is a Hindu temple located in the village of Triolet, Mauritius. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Shiva (another name is Maheshwarnath, meaning the great Lord). The temple was founded in 1888 by Pandit Shri Sajeebunlall Ramsoondur, who came from Calcutta. The temple is famous for its association with the first pilgrimage to Ganga Talao, the sacred lake found in the center of Mauritius. The temple is the biggest and one of the oldest of its kind on the island.
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Maha shivratri 2012 maheswarnath mandir triolet
History
The temple is more than 120 years old. Its founder; Pandit Shri Sanjibunlall Ramsoondur,originally of Bihar India better known as Pandit Sanjibon, came to Mauritius on April 4, 1866,travelling from Calcutta. He came as a peddler but acquired wealth during the great partition, which began in 1878. Due to his economic independence, intelligence and stature, he was respected by all. Pandit Sanjibon was a major landowner - He had 53.70 acres at Terminus, Triolet, of which he donated 10.13 acres to a Hindu society in 1895.
He had acquired the land of Jules Langlois, due to the failure of the sugar factory of Triolet. He then demolished the chimney of the factory, without knowing he was bypassing the laws concerning the historic monuments of Mauritius. Thereafter, he decided to build Hindu temples at its own expenses and the principal temple would be of the same height as the destroyed chimney.
At that time, the ruins of the sugar factories were often used to make places of worship. The Church of Notre Dame de La Salette is a case in Grand Baie. The other one is the temple of Triolet which was built on the ruins. The building was the work of Tamil artisans under the supervision of Mr Goinsamy Maestry. Those artisans had even built the Jummah Masjid in Port Louis and the Sockalingum Meenatchee Ammen kovil at Nicolay road, Port Louis (commonly known as "Kaylasson temple").
Sajibon Pandit, who was very energetic, himself helped in constructing the temple; which lasted from 1888 to 1891.
Images of the deities and priests arrived from India and Sajibon went there to pick them up. When he brought the second "lingam" from Kashi, he organized a "Shobha Yatra"(a religious procession) from Port Louis to Triolet.
After the inauguration of the temple, Pandit Sajibon donated money to the Hindu society for the management of the temple. He gave 10.13 acres of land along with, according to the deed of Mr Baissac, notary.
The Maheswarnath Temple legend
According to a legend, during the temple's construction, a huge pot of gold and silver coins were found buried on the very spot where the temple was being made.It is believed by many that this gold must have belonged to Indian Ocean pirates from the previous century, who used to attack east Indian company ships for their gold and other precious goods.The money found was then used for the construction of the temple.
The first Maha Shivratree Pilgrimage
A major event associated with Pandit Sajibon and the Maheswarnath temple is the beginning of the annual pilgrimage to Grand Bassin. In fact, in 1897 Pandit Shri Jhummon Giri Gossagne Napal, a priest of Bois Pignolet together with Pandit Shri Mohanparsad, a priest of Goodlands saw in a dream the water of the lake of Grand Bassin springing from the ‘Jahnvi’, thus forming part of Ganga. The news of the dream spread rapidly and created quite a stir in the Hindu community and also reassured the Hindus about the sacred nature of the island and the futility of returning India to die. The following year, Pandit Giri Gossagne and Pandit Sajibon along with nine people from Triolet trekked to Grand Bassin to collect its water to offer to Lord Shiva on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. The lake was then known as ‘Pari Talao’ and became the equivalent of the holy Ganges in India. Thereafter, people from all around the island started to follow this tradition of making a pilgrimage with a "kanwar"(A bamboo structure covered with fabrics and decorated with ornaments-it also enshrines images of Hindu deities) to Ganga Talao to collect its holy water. The holy water is then offered to lord Shiva in the local temples of their respective villages. This pilgrimage remains an integral part of the Maha Shivratree festival and this tradition is unique to Mauritius.
Architecture
The temples reflect the Bengal architecture. For instance, the main temple is a variation of the "ratna" style of West Bengal. It is a variation of the pancha-ratna or a five-towered temple built on a platform. The temple is decorated with images of various Hindu deities and floral designs. Since its construction, the temple is always painted white while the sculptures and the floral designs are colorful, in contrast to the white background. The main temple houses lord Shiva in the form of the shiv ling. There is also the image of his wife, goddess Parvati, their sons; lord Ganesha and lord Kartikeya and another form of Shiva; lord Bhairava. Facing the shiv ling is Nandi, the gate-keeper. Next to the principal temple are two smaller ones dedicated to goddess Lakshmi and lord Nataraja. Another temple is dedicated to Lakshmi Narayan and their various incarnations. There is also a Hanuman temple in addition to a temple housing lord Jagannath, goddess Kali, goddess Saraswati, goddess Durga and her nine forms. In the center of the temple complex is a smaller temple enshrining the smaller lingam that Pandit Sajibon brought from Kashi and hence the temple is named Kashi Vishwanath.