The five-foot tall munga idol of Lord Ganesha at a Shiva temple on Ramshila Hills in Gaya. Picture by Suman

Gaya, March 3: A potential historical site, a Shiva temple on Ramshila Hills, lies neglected and is in a shambles.

The 300-year-old Shiva temple is located towards the eastern foothills. The site is located near the bordering area of Gaya town towards the northern side, around five kilometres from the railway station.

The speciality of this temple is the five-foot tall idol of Lord Ganesh made from impure coral, around one-foot tall shivling made of rock crystal stone (sphatic), the idols of Ram, Sita and Laxman, made of black stone (kasauti) and marble respectively and some other idols made of marble.

The idols of Lord Ganesh and the shivling are rare and highly precious.

Deep Narayan Pandey, the priest at this temple told The Telegraph: “Except in Gaya, the sphatic shivling is available at only two other places in the country — Setu Bandh at Rameshwaram and Raghunath temple in Jammu.”

One of the eyes of Lord Ganesh made from precious crystal went missing in 2010. The one eye that was left has also been removed. Two eyes made of stones have been installed in their places to give them similarity. However, no complaint was registered even after its discovery.

Around 300 years ago, the maharaja of Tekari, a sub-division of a block in Gaya district, got this temple constructed before dedicating it to the Amawan estate, which still holds its ownership. Today, the temple is maintained through donation proceeds. In spite of the theft, there has been no security arrangement for the expensive idols of the temple.

A police outpost had been set up near the temple. Two rooms have been constructed beneath the temple to accommodate six home guards and a station house officer, but when this correspondent visited the place, nobody was there.

City superintendent of police Ratanmani Sanjeev told The Telegraph that he would review the matter and initiate necessary steps to beef up security arrangements outside the temple, especially keeping in mind the number of pilgrims visiting Ramshila hills to perform pinddaan rituals.

Eminent fabric trader Shivram Dalmia helped in the renovation work of the temple. The ceiling of the temple was repaired and the walls were plastered around seven years ago. Between 2007 and 2008, he installed marble slabs on the floor.

Dalmia, a member of the committee made by Bihar State Religious Trust Board for renovation of the Jagannath temple in Bodhgaya, told The Telegraph that he would request the board chairman Kishore Kunal to beef up the security of the temple and ask for its better maintenance.

According to the myth, there is a footprint of Lord Ram atop the hill on which the temple is located.

Pandey said the Vedas say Ram performed pinddaan for his ancestors at this place. Now, the devotees perform pinddaan there throughout the year and during the 17-day pitrapaksh in particular.

Residents of the area said if the authorities pay more attention towards the facelift of the temple, it has the potential to become a place of attraction for tourists and devotees.