Mythological History: 

There are only a few temples of Panchmukhi Shiva in our country, one of which is located in the holy city of Ayodhya, which is just a short distance from the birthplace of Ram. There is an ancient temple at Guptar Ghat in Ayodhya, which is also known as the Anadi Panchmukhi Temple. Lord Shiva has five faces which express the five names of Panchasiya worship. Panchmukhi Mahadev Temple is made of red sandstone, Rudrabhishek, and the ornament of Lord Shiva is done here on Monday. No fact is available about the construction of this temple. Like the famous Shivalayas of Ayodhya, Nageshwarnath, and Kshireshwarnath, the establishment of this temple is also very ancient. According to Panchasiya worship, the Shivalinga present here has five faces. The general meaning of linga is symbol. Shiva is the symbol of the universe. Their five-faced form is a symbol of the five elements. Describing them it is said in Vishnu Dharmottara: Sadyojat, Vamdev, Aghor, Tatpurush, and Ishaan are the five faces that represent earth, water, brilliance (fire), air, and sky respectively. Such Shiva Lingas which have visible faces are called Mukhlingas. In Shiva worship, it is said that enjoyment is achieved through idol worship, salvation is achieved through Linga worship, and both enjoyment and salvation are achieved through the worship of Mukhalinga.

 

Why should Shiva be called Panchmukhi?: It is believed that once Lord Vishnu took the form of a very handsome teenager. Gods like Chaturvan Brahma, multi-faced Anant, Sahastraksha Indra, etc. came to see that beautiful form. They enjoyed the sweetness of God's form more than the one-faced people. Seeing this, Lord Shiva started thinking that if I too had many faces and eyes, I too would have seen this teenage form of God the most. As soon as this desire arose in the mind of Lord Shiva, his five faces appeared and he became five-faced. According to another belief, when there was nothing at the beginning of creation, the first God Shiva assumed five faces to create the universe or it can be said that Lord Shiva created life, hence he was called Panchmukhi. The five elements water, air, fire, sky, and earth originated from the five faces of Trinetradhari Shiva, hence these five faces of Shri Shiva are also considered as Panchatattva. With the desire for the welfare of the world, Lord Sadashiv had many incarnations in different Kalpas, among which his Sadyojaat, Vamdev, Tatpurush, Aghor, and Ishaan incarnations are prominent. These are the five special idols of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva has a special love for Vishnuji. Shiva is Tamasmurthy and Vishnu is Satvamurthy, but by meditating on each other, Shiva became white and Vishnu became dark.

Description of the five faces of Lord Shiva:

1.  Lord Shiva had five faces - Sadyojat, Vamdev, Tatpurush, Aghor, and Ishaan and each face had three eyes, from then on he came to be known as 'Panchanan' or Panchvaktra'. Lord Shiva has five faces in four directions and the fifth in the middle.
2.  The west-facing face of Lord Shiva is Sadyojata. He is as clean, pure, and disorderly as a child.
3.  The north-facing direction is Vamdev. Vamdev means destroyer of vices.
4.  South-facing Aghor. Aghor means one who does condemnable deeds. Even the person who does a condemned deed makes his condemned deed pure by the grace of Lord Shiva.
5. The name of the former face of Lord Shiva is Tatpurusha. Tatpurush means being situated in one's soul.
6. The name of the upward face is Ishaan. Ishaan means lord. In Panchmukhi Shiv, the five faces of Lord Shankar, the north face is of milk-like color, the east face is of Tatpurusha yellow color, the south face is of Aghor blue color, the west face is of Sadyojat white color and the north face is of Vamdev Krishna color.
7. Lord Shiva says in Shivpuran - creation, maintenance, destruction, disappearance, and grace - these five acts (functions) of mine are performed by my five faces.
8. The five distinct idols (faces) of Lord Shiva are his incarnations taken in different Kalpas, with the wish for the welfare of the world.

 

Timing Of Temple:

If you wish to visit this temple, then let us tell you that the consecration of Lord Shiva is done daily with the water of the Saryu River. Then Abhishekam is done with milk. Not only this, devotees reach here from 03:00 AM to offer water to the temple. Bhog is offered to the Lord at noon in the day. The temple remains open from 04:00 PM to 09:00 PM. There is a huge crowd of devotees here on Monday.

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