Agra: While Tamil Nadu is known as the Temple State of India and Bhubaneshwar is known as the Temple City of India, few people know that Agra is nothing short of being a City of Shiva. A simple search on Google Maps will show hundreds of Shiv Temples in the City.

In a move to present a new profile of Agra and raise awareness on this, the Society for Preservation of Health Environment and Ecology and Heritage of Agra, i.e. SPHEEHA, in partnership with Tourism Guild of Agra and UP Tourism organized the 14th Edition of its annual event, ‘Agra Beyond Taj’ to deliberate about the ‘Chronology of Shiv Temples in Agra and Bateshwar’ as part of the ongoing Taj Mahotsav. 

The high priest of Sri Mankameshwar temple Mahant Yogesh Puri started his talks to the resounding ovation of ‘Har Har Mahadev’. Being the Chief Priest of Shri Manakameshwar Temple of Agra, which is believed to be over 5500 years old and 28th generation descendant of the family serving Lord Shiva in the temple, he said that Agra is indeed the City of Shiva. His conviction stems from the fact that Agra has four famous Shiv Temples at the four entrances of the city as well as four famous temples of Bhairav, widely believed to be the eighth form of Shiva, whereas some believe Bhairav is a child of Shiva. Agra also has two prominent Shiv temples in the Heart of the city. There is an ageless history associated with these temples. Hence, Agra can be and should be developed as a spiritual tourism center with well-defined itineraries and facilities.

Former President of the Tourism Guild of Agra, Arun Dang highlighted the fact that Mahadji Scindia and Ahilyabai Holkar helped resurrect many Shiv Temples in Agra and Bateshwar during the heydays of the Maratha empire from 1758 to 1818. Even the renowned poet, Nazeer Akbarabadi has mentioned the role Shiv temples played in shaping the character of Agra in his poems.

Pankaj Gupta, Secretary of SPHEEHA, spoke on Spiritualism and Environmental Consciousness, making a profound statement that the current climate change crisis also requires a spiritual response comprising physical and meta-physical activities made of five elements so that all living beings can flourish. In this regard, he focused on the river cleaning activity being done at Poiyya Ghat in association with DEI University and Radhaswami Satsang Sabha as well as the inclusions of Camels in the barns of Dayalbagh celebrating the ‘Year of Camelids’ as declared by United Nations.

Anu Dhillon Singh of Mela Kothi and Chambal Safari showcased a presentation of various temples of Bateshwar and their brief history. Shyam Kumar from Double Tree by Hilton informed the role tourism plays in the local economy, the need for laws governing tourist behavior, and the improvement of basic facilities in the city. Rajeev Saxena, current President of Tourism Guild of Agra gave the vote of thanks. The program was conducted by Sudhir Narain.