Mahakumbhnagar. Baba Loknath of Prayagraj, the oldest city of Sanatan culture and faith, is a replica of Baba Vishwanath of Kashi. Nothing can be said accurately about the antiquity of Loknath Mahadev, but the priests here say that Baba Loknath is described in the Reva section of Skanda Purana and Shanti Parva of Mahabharata.
Loknath, the famous locality of the main market square of Prayagraj, is named after Baba Loknath established here. Priest Gauri Shankar Pandey, who has been worshiping Baba Loknath for four generations, said that there is a mythological belief that because he is the king of all the cities and places of pilgrimage, he is called Tirtharaj Prayagraj. Baba Loknath himself is Bhu Shivalinga and his description is found in the Reva section of Skanda Purana as “Vamdev Mahadev Dev-Dev Sureshwarah, Loknath Pahi-Pahi Prannath Kripakarh.”
Apart from this, Baba Loknath of Prayag has also been described in Shanti Parva of Mahabharata. Loknath Mahadev is especially worshiped on the day of Sawan month, Pradosh and Shivratri. Not only the residents of Prayagraj but devotees coming to Sangam from far and wide definitely come to see Loknath Mahadev. Shri Pandey told that famous personalities of Prayag like Madan Mohan Malviya, Chunnan Guru, Pandit Shridhar Pathak used to visit the temple regularly. Apart from this, while being the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi and V.P. Singh also had darshan and worship of Baba Loknath.
He told that Baba Loknath’s Shiva procession held on the day of Shivratri is the historical Shiva procession of Prayagraj. He told that Matsyendranath of Nath sect had completed Chaturmas here in ancient times. In this temple, there are ancient statues of Lord Loknath along with his rider Nandi Maharaj, Lord Ganesha and Goddess Parvati and Sheshnag in the form of Bhavani. Apart from this, local people have also installed idols of Mata Durga, Hanuman ji and other gods and goddesses.
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