Ranbireshwar Temple, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir India

Ranbireshwar Temple is a very popular temple in Jammu, located opposite Jammu & Kashmir Civil Secretariat, on Shalamar Road. The temple’s main deity is Lord Shiva. Ranbireshwar Temple was built in the 19th century and is flocked with visitors from all over the world throughout the year.

Ranbireshwar Temple was ordered to be built by Maharaja Ranbir Singh who was one of the ancestors of the Dogra rulers of Jammu and Kashmir. The construction of the temple was completed in 1883. The premises of the temple are basically divided into two halls which are lined with images of the gods Ganesha and Kartikeya. Ranbireshwar Temple contains twelve Shiva ‘lingams’ of crystal measuring from 12" to 18" and galleries with thousands of ‘saligrams’ (a type of stone worshipped by Hindus) fixed on stone slabs. But the main attraction of Ranbireshwar Temple is a large black ‘Shiva Linga’ placed in the main sanctum of the temple that measures seven and half feet and is considered a symbol of the universal God and of auspiciousness. The huge Shiva Linga was constructed out of a black marble stone and is surrounded with the twelve other Shiva Lingas. The temple also contains images of Shiva’s wife Parvati and his ride, Nandi the bull.

Even though the temple is flocked with visitors throughout the year but on days sacred to Lord Shiva, like the festival of Shivaratri, the temple gets overcrowded with visitors offering milk and other things to the Lord.

Summer months (March to June) in Jammu are extremely hot with the mercury reaching as high as 45 degrees. Winters (November to February) are generally very cold with temperatures falling to as low as- 2 degrees and experience heavy rainfall. The best time to the visit Ranbireshwar Temple is from the month of October to April.