Temple of Rameshwar Mahadev.
– Photo : Amar Ujala
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Rameshwar, the third stop of the Panchkroshi Yatra of Kashi, has a different mythological and spiritual significance. In the month of Saavan, innumerable devotees come to the Rameshwar Mahadev temple located here for darshan and worship.
There is a mythological belief that to escape the sin of Brahmahatya, Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram, who came to Kashi on the Panchkroshi Yatra, made a Shivalinga with his own hands from a handful of sand from the Varuna river and installed it here.
Acharya Pandit Anup Tiwari, the head priest of Rameshwar Mahadev temple, said that according to the Puranas, Lord Shri Ram killed Ravana in Treta Yuga. To atone for the sin of killing a brahmin, Shri Ram did the Panchkroshi Yatra in Kashi.
He rested for the night on the banks of the Varuna river. The next morning he performed puja. During that time, it came to his mind that there should be a temple of his favorite deity Lord Shiva at the stop of Panchkroshi Yatra.
On this he asked Hanumanji to bring a Shivling. When Hanumanji went to get the Shivling, he thought that no special work of Lord Shri Ram is completed without him. This means that he is the biggest devotee of Lord Shri Ram.
When Lord Shri Ram came to know about this, he felt that Hanumanji has developed a deformity of ego and this should be removed. Due to the illusion of Lord Shri Ram, Hanumanji got delayed in bringing the Shivalinga.
Meanwhile, Guru Vashishtha said that the auspicious time was passing. On this, Shri Ram took a handful of sand from the Varuna river and established a Shivling and called it Mahaling. However, there is no mention of this anywhere in Kashi Khand. There is no mention of this in the Panchkroshi Yatra in the books written after the 16th century. According to Kashi Khand, Lord Ram established Raghunatheshwar Linga in the boundary of Avimukteshwar area to get salvation from brahmahatya.
