Barmer : On the first Monday of Sawan, there is a rush of devotees in Shiva temples across the country. At the same time, devotees have started arriving to visit the mythological Haldeshwar Mahadev Temple located among the fifty-six hills in Siwana of Balotra. This temple built between 7 hills, famous as Mini Mount, has its own special identity. In the month of Sawan, a large number of devotees reach here to visit Mahadev. After visiting here, the devotees pray for the well-being of their family.
Bholenath appeared here to kill the Haldiya demon
According to mythological belief, there was terror of a demon named Haldiya in these fifty-six hills. The villagers prayed to Bholenath to get rid of the terror of the demon. As a result, Lord Shiva appeared under a peepal tree and killed the demon and freed the villagers from his fear. Since then this place is known as Haldeshwar Mahadev. There is also a hill at this place where there is a cave and Dhuni of Guru Gorakhnath. Guru Gorakhnath had performed penance here for many years. Apart from this, the Pandavas also spent their exile here during the Mahabharata period. There is also a temple of Maa Bhavani on a high hill nearby but it is very difficult to reach there.
There is also a unique history of Veer Durgadas Prol on the way to Haldeshwar
The Prol built by Veer Durgadas on the hills on the way to Haldeshwar also has its own history. It is believed that during Aurangzeb’s invasion in the seventeenth century, after the death of Raja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur state, his son Ajit Singh was refused to be accepted as the king and conspiracies started being hatched. In such a situation, Veer Durgadas built a Prol in these hills to save the little boy Ajit Singh from Aurangzeb and kept Ajit Singh there. Later he was sent to Mewar. Durgadas also hid Aurangzeb’s grandson and granddaughter in this Prol, who were later handed back to him. However, this Prol is now in a dilapidated condition.
The government announced the budget for the development of Haldeshwar temple
In the state government budget, Finance Minister Diya Kumari has recently announced a grant for the development of this Haldeshwar temple. MLA Hamir Singh said that after the announcement of the state government, this historical and mythological temple will develop rapidly, which will also promote tourism. In the budget, a special package of 100 crores has also been demanded under the ‘Campo Fund’ for the forest area of these hills of Chappan. Under which the statue of Veer Durgadas can be installed here. Along with this, efforts will also be made to create panoramas for other ancient temples including Panchtirtha Bhid Bhajan, Hinglaj Mata, Haldeshwar, Koteshwar Mahadev and Sukhleshwar Mahadev in the district so that tourism is also promoted along with faith here.
How to reach Haldeshwar Mahadev
To reach Haldeshwar Mahadev, devotees have to go to Siwana and from there they have to traverse a distance of about 7 kms through difficult hilly paths from the foothills of Piploon village.
