An old man grazing, sheeps and goats with the Gokli Devi who was the grandmother of Shankar Gur Goswami. They told that Pandav had built this temple and spent a long time in this area.
An old man also told that Bani was known as dense area in Jungle and Dacoit had captured that area.
A shephered was grazing sheeps in the Jungle. He saw a Shiv temple and a pool in which a spring (bowli) was filled with fresh water. When the Pandav went for exile and was roaming in the Jungle, they spent a long span of life there and built a Shiv temple.
A Sephered who was grazing sheeps in the Jungle, he came inside the Temple, he requested to Moti Gur Goswami’s family for looking after and caring.
Those days many people were came inside the temple to took darshan of an ideol of Shivji and Mata Parvati. The families of Moti Gur Gowswami had been worship in the temple. A 400 years old Banayan tree found near the Shiv Temple.
After the death of Moti Gir Menhat Sukhdev had took whole responsibility of Temple. In those days, a large number of people were gathered in Mela and came to took Pooja and Archana in the Temple day and night.
The Menahat family also told that those family who have no child (baby) they worshiped in the temple and their wishes would be fulfilled.
An Idol of Nandi Bull and Barhav Nath ji is also installed near the Shiv Temple. After fulfilled their wishes in the Temple there was practice of ritual killing.
Locals told that after the death of Guru and Chela who belonged to a Gaddi caste, there Samadhis are built near the Temple in those days. They were very powerful. They told that other temples were also built by Pandavs in Billawar, Bani, and Basholi. The idols inside the temple are also view able and old stone used to built these temples. Land was donated by local peoples of the adjoining areas.
We have a old Shiv Mandir situated at Village Bani of Panchayat Gurah Kalyal having more than 300 kanals community land on the name of Shiv Mandir.
The large number of Shiv devotees hailing from the nearby area paid obesiance at aforesaid Mandir to get blessings of Lord Shiva for which they are having great Astha in the Sthan being a good pilgrims Mandir / Tourist spot.
The aforesaid spot can be development a tourist spot by undertaking modernation and upgradation of the existing Mandir infrastructure as well as the open space all around the Mandir premises. The spot is having a good scenic natural beauty constructed way back during the Pandavs regime, so in order to revive the old structure to intact the existing Mandir and heritage its modernation and development on Tourism pattern is quite imperative at this juncture especially in view of the old deteriorated and dilapidated Mandir and other structures.
The residents have collectively and jointly approached to the Lakhanpur – Sarthal Development Authority on number of occassions for its repair and renovation besides development of park and garden with lush green open ground with flower/ shrub beds, but not acceded up till now, for which the concerned authorities may kindly be directed to develop the Shiv Mandir premises in a modern Tourist / Pilgrim spot as it is the centrally located having sufficient open space of over 300 kanals and needs immediate attention by the Government as in essential to safeguard the common community pilgrims heritage spot or otherwise the localites hailing in the vicinity are encroaching the community land.
In order to develop the proposed site, the committee members including local PRIs / Sarpanch/ Panches/ Numberdar and other leading residents are of the opinion to develop the Mandir, Spring, Open Ground for Park and Boundary Wall on the periphery of the Shiv Mandir comprising of 300 kanals for which “Detailed Project Report” on Tourism pattern may kindly be got prepared from the concerned authorities as required and requested earlier
Hence, as such, submitted for kind perusal and with the request to kindly make it convenient to be kind enough to look into the long pending grievances put forth for immediate redressal. We are very much confident and sure about your highness that our genuine long pending demand may definitely be given due timely weightage.
