Bhojeshwar Temple

Aditi Ghosh

Since childhood mythological stories used to attract me and later reading of Devdutt Patnaik’s books has kept me hooked on them. Another mythological story is associated with this Shiva temple, Bhojpur. Perched on a small hillock with the quiet Betwa River on one side, the Bhojpur temple makes for a spectacular view. There are various folklore prevailing locally, around this temple. One such lore says that Kunti left Karna somewhere along the Betwa River.

Raja Bhoj built the Bhojeshwar temple around 1010-1055 AD but never completed it. Some say he shifted his focus and resources towards the Somnath temple that was being attacked by Mahmud of Ghazni and then he passed away before he could complete the construction of this one. Others say that he wanted to build this temple in one day and so it remained incomplete after the day’s work. I would like to believe the earlier one though.

The writer is a globe traveler