Gorakhnath Dham, Azamnagar

Gorakhnath Shiv Temple is one of the central points of distinct identity of Katihar district, which is famous as the main pillar of cultural and religious harmony. This temple is located in Gorakhpur panchayat of Azamnagar block. The symbol of faith, due to the fame of this temple far and wide, devotees from North Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Nepal and Bhutan etc. come here to fulfil their wishes. There is an influx of devotees here throughout the years. But seeing the special religious importance of the month of Sawan, a large number of devotees come here for darshan. The crowd of devotees is high on Sundays, Mondays and full moon days and it is believed that offering Ganga water to Lord Shiva on these special days fulfils the wishes of the people. This temple is also called Mini Babadham because of its religious importance and immense devotion and attachment of devotees coming from far and wide. Many legends are heard about the Gorakhnath temple, but it is believed that about 1500 years ago, Baba Gorakhnath came to this place during his visit to North-East India and got a Siddha Peeth built by doing sadhna for a long time. Gradually the fame of this place started increasing and later the descendants of Saureya Raja got a temple constructed and its fame spread far and wide. The temple was lying in a dilapidated condition due to lack of maintenance, after a long time an interesting incident made possible the restoration of this temple, in which Malbabu late Janardan Singh of Salmari Railway Station had an important contribution. It is believed that about fifty years ago, Lord Shiva appeared in Malbabu's dream one night and asked him to bring water from Manihari Ghat to Ganga Jal Kanwar on foot and offer it to the Gorakhpur Shiva temple. After following the order of God by Malbabu, he had immense devotion towards Lord Shiva, after which he took special interest in the renovation of the temple and created an environment worthy of worship there and served Bholenath and the devotees. Due to his untiring efforts, the Trustee Council was formed for that temple, which looks after all the works of the temple. The environment of the temple complex full of natural beauty is very captivating, there is a big pond for bathing and other religious establishments in the temple premises surrounded by trees and plants and there is a rest room for the devotees to stay, the place around the temple complex It has been developed in such a way that Shiva devotees do not face any problem even during rush hour.