Sawan 2024: Where is the Chandrakant Mani now? Ravana had snatched it from Kuber

Regarding the famous Chandrakant Mani of Lord Shiva described in mythology, it is often asked where is this mani now. This mani, which once resided in Lord Shiva's matted locks, was given by Lord Shiva to Kuber. Later, when Ravana snatched the Pushpak Viman from Kuber, he also captured the Chandrakant Mani along with it.

Baijnath Dham Temple in Deoghar

If you have been to Baijnath Dham, you must have seen a shining object on the top of the temple. This object shining from a distance is not an electric bulb or artificial light. This object sitting on the top of this Ravanaeshwar temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, is the Chandrakant Mani. The same Chandrakant Mani, which has been mentioned many times in Shiv Puran and Skanda Puran. Earlier this Chandrakant Mani was in the locks of Shiva. From there it came to Kuber's treasury and later when the demon king Ravana snatched it from Kuber.

Now the question arises that how did this Chandrakant Mani reach the peak of Baijnath Dham situated in Deoghar, Jharkhand, thousands of kilometers away from the treasury of Ravana, the king of Lanka. The story to answer this question is a bit long, but here we will tell you in brief. Although from the very beginning, there has been a huge crowd of Shiva devotees at this famous Jyotirlinga of Deoghar, Jharkhand, but after the independence of the country, a lot of devotees started coming here from all over the country and the world. In such a situation, there was a problem in the entry and exit of all the Shiva devotees from the same door of the temple.

Chandrakant Mani was found during excavation in 1962

In such a situation, the temple management and the Jharkhand government started the work of breaking a wall of the temple and making another door in the year 1962. For this, the digging continued for three consecutive days. In the afternoon of the third day, while digging, suddenly a laborer's shovel hit something metal-like. The sound was quite loud, so the laborers removed the soil from there and saw that a strange shining object was lying deep in the ground. The laborers immediately informed the contractor about this and the contractor informed the temple management. The temple management itself informed the police, administration and the state government about this thing.

The temple was established on the peak on the advice of scholars

On the initiative of the state government, scientists, archaeologists and religious scholars were called to identify this thing. Everyone examined it in their own way. At that time, the officials of the Archaeological Department considered this thing to be very ancient, but refused to identify it. At the same time, scientists also expressed their inability to calculate the correct age of this thing. After this, from the priest of the temple to the people knowledgeable about religious scriptures, tested this thing on the basis of Shiva Purana and Skanda Purana, Ravana Samhita and other texts. It was found that all the characteristics of this thing match the characteristics of Chandrakant Mani. Finally, the final announcement was made that this thing is nothing but Chandrakant Mani itself.

Ravana had snatched this gem from Kubera

At that time, after discussions with the scholars, this mani was installed on the peak of the Baijnath temple. It is said that there can be no better place to preserve this mani than the head of Lord Shiva. Secondly, the devotees coming here will be able to see this mani easily. Now know how this mani came here. According to mythological belief, at one time this mani was in two parts. It was given by Lord Shiva to the gods. The gods gave one of these mani to Lakshmi ji and kept the other mani in Kuber's treasury. This mani remained in Kuber's treasury for a long time. Here, as soon as Ravana's power increased, he snatched the Pushpak Viman from Kuber. At the same time, Ravana's eyes fell on this Chandrakant Mani lying in Kuber's treasury, so he captured it too.

This gem was buried in the ground at the time of Jyotirlinga

Ravana always kept this mani with him. Once while taking Shivling from Mount Kailash to Lanka, this Jyotirlinga got established in Deoghar itself, at that time Ravana tried very hard to lift it. He not only failed in this attempt, but also lost the Chandrakant Mani. It is believed that along with the Shivling, this mani also sank into the ground. Later a shepherd named Baiju removed the soil and revealed the Shivling, but the Chandrakant Mani remained buried in the ground. Which was taken out in 1962.