Govt fails to preserve potential tourist site

Himalayan News Service

Mahendranagar, April 21

The Siddhanath region of Kanchanpur, a place with extreme religious importance in the far western region of the country, remains neglected by the government in terms of preservation and protection, even though there is a bright prospect for tourist potential.

The area, popularly known as the Siddhanath Baijanath, is located between the Syali River and the Mahakali River, with Jhilmila Imaliya to the west and the Jhimiliya Lake to the north.

There are numerous ancient temples and statues of gods and goddesses inside this region but they are unfortunately kept in the shadow of publicity, Balram Chataut of Mahendranagar says.

There are many legends behind the establishment of Siddhanath, but one such tale reads this way---a very long time ago, a religious scholar called Siddha Mahatma observed a meditation in order to make goddess Bhagawati (Purnagiri) happy. The goddess Purnagiri was very happy with the very tough spiritual process undergone by Siddha Mahatma and granted him such power that pilgrims visiting other pilgrimage sites of the world, would not have completed their spiritual pilgrimage until they had visited Siddanath. A temple and a cave were established there, both in his name.

These places have become very popular in this region, in spite of having received minimum publicity, pundit Damber Upreti, priest of the temple said.

Following this Hindu mythology, a large number of devotees, from across the country as well as from various parts of neighbouring India, visit the temple to complete their pilgrimage. Despite of any promotion in the region’s attractions, the number of people coming to pay homage to Siddhababa of Mahendranagar is, however, increasing day after day, the locals say.

It is widely believed that those making offerings of flags, trident (trisul), ornaments and cash at the temple will receive the blessings of the goddesses.

This area of Nepal is renowned since ancient times as the home of the Siddhanath-Baijanath temple and any works carried out in the region are always preceded by a form of worship in the temple, which is said to bring good fortune and success to the programme.