Welcome to Shanaleshwara
The Official Website Of Shree Shanaleshwara Swayambhu Temple

The temple are dedicated to the worship of the Lord Shiva, known under various local names, the most important of which is Shanaleshwara
Temple Entrance with the Lord Shiva sculpture

Shanaleshwara® (also Shanaleshwar; Sanskrit: शानालेश्वर्) Swayambhu Temple is located the NALAS village of Rajpura Tehsil in the Indian state of Punjab. The Shanaleshwara is regarded one of the foremost Hindu temple complexes in northern India. Shanaleshwara has been recognized by 1146 CE, JUNA AKHARA foundation (Originally called “Bhairavi Akhara”) as a place of Guru–shishya tradition and it is maintained by the Ascetic Sadhu’s.
Here the self-born Lingam of Lord Shiva is present, this is why it is called Swayambhu. Since the 15th century temple has been home to Sadhu’s. There is an 65 ft-tall sculpture of Lord Shiva at the entrance of the temple and the height of the temple is above 100 ft-long.
Maha Shivaratri is great festival here, three-days fair is held here every year on Maha Shivaratri lakhs of people come to the fair to ask for a vow. It has been a tradition that on Maha Shivaratri in this region (nearby Rajpura) most of the devotees start their journey on foot from their homes to the Shanaleshwara temple and volunteers serve food to the devotees along the way.


A view of Shanaleshwara Swayambhu lingam
Shanaleshwara is identify by Mahant Sh. Karam Giri Ji Maharaj
Everyday Swayambhu lingam deity is decorated for Evening Worship as you can see some of the views below…
Temple Timing (GMT+5:30)
Each row displays several details. Some are there by default, others can be added. These are the available Timings:
- Morning 04:00 to 11:45
- Evening Summers 14:30 to 21:00 (Monday 21:30)
- Evening Winters 14:30 to 20:00 (Monday 20:30)
Trayodashi 04:00 to 23:45
Here, the saga of Temple origin tells that in Nalas region was in jungle, here used to be a very quiet environment. According to the saga, at that time some shepherds used to come here to feed their cows for some time. One of the cows that came to graze here was such that when she was about to go back to the grazing house, she used to stand near a bushes and here the milk squirt started coming out of her udder automatically and then when her milk was empty If used to be done, she would walk to the house. (her name was Nalni) Now that she has come out in the bushes, what will she give in the house?
Where the cowman was very upset to see this How this happens and that too every day. As a result, when the cowman took the cow to graze again, he kept a close watch on it. The same thing happened during his watch, which was going on, that is, the cow reached the bushes again before going home and as soon as she reached the swayambhu, a torrent of milk started coming out of her udder. Seeing this, the cowman found out how his milk ran out. But seeing the way it was going to end, he was shocked. On the one hand, where he was surprised, on the other hand he thought of knowing how the cow’s milk comes out from here itself. What is there in these bushes?
According to the saga, the cowman started pruning the bushes where his cow was automatically extracting milk. It is said that when he was driving the ax, a stroke of his ax occurred on the swayambhu Shiva-lingam present there. As soon as the strike hit the Shiva-lingam, it caused a thunder of lightning in the sky and the Meditation of Mahant Karam giri ji, who was doing penance under the Banyan tree at some distance from this place, dissolved and he woke up. Here, Villagers and others present with Shivalinga are terrified and inadvertently apologize for the ax inflicted.
At the same time, it is said that the king of Patiala also had a dream about Shivling that night, in which the king was asked to get the temple constructed. It is said that the king was asked to leave one of his elephants in the morning. The place where the elephant will stop and the temple is to be built there. Here the king did as he was told. Next morning, Maharaja Patiala left his elephant and followed him himself. Where the Shivling itself originated. The elephant stopped after coming there. After which Maharaja Patiala got the temple built at that place. On completion of the construction of the temple, the temple was surrendered to Karam Giri Ji Maharaj, who was doing penance near the place where Shivalinga originated. The name of this temple is known as Shanaleshwara Swayambhu Temple and it is also known as Nalas Shiv Temple.
Even Today is Claim that “Shiva in Kailash, or Shiva in Nalas”