Story of a Hindu temple built by the British

This happened in the 1880s when the British were ruling India. An Englishman, Colonel Martin was in the war with Afghanistan and used to regularly write letters to his wife assuring her of his safety and the conditions prevailing there. The war was for a very long time and his wife, Mrs. Martin stopped receiving his letters after some days. She became worried and spent sleepless nights fearing what must have happened to her husband. One day, while riding on her horse she passed by the temple of

Baijnath Mahadev, present in Agar Malwa, Madhya Pradesh. She was attracted to the sound of the conch and the mantras, went inside the temple and saw Lord Shiva being worshipped. The priests observed that she was in grief and asked her the reason. She explained the reason behind her sorrow and worry. The priests suggested her to pray to Lord Shiva earnestly and chant 'Om Namah Shivaya' for 11 days. She started praying to Lord Shiva sincerely since then for 11 days and made a vow that if she hears from her husband, she would get the temple renovated.

On the eleventh day, she received a letter. Her husband wrote

‘I was sending letters to you regularly though I was in the war field but all of a sudden we got surrounded by the Pathans and there was no way of escaping death. Suddenly I saw a person with long hair, draped in lion skin, carrying a weapon with three pointers. He had an amazing personality and he drove away the Pathans using his weapon in a magnificent way. Due to him, we became victorious. That great Yogi told me that due to your prayers he had come to rescue me.’

Mrs. Martin started crying with happiness while reading the letter and she fell onto the feet of Lord Shiva's statue in the temple and burst into tears.

Later, when Colonel Martin returned, she narrated everything to him after which both of them became staunch devotees of Lord Shiva and donated Rs. 15,000 for renovating the temple. This information has been engraved on a slab and is still present in the Baijnath Mahadev Temple. This is the only Hindu temple built by the British.