the Ultimate Web on Indian Gods & Temples

 by Padmani,

In olden days, there was a king named Bhadrashwa. One day, Sage Agastya came to his kingdom and informed that he will stay there for seven days. At this juncture, the sage saw the king's beautiful wife Kanthimathi and praised her for seven days. The king got astonished and asked the reason from the sage. The sage replied that the king was a Vaishnavite in his previous birth and his name was Haridutt and she was also the wife then. One day, Haridutt and his wife worshipped the Shivalinga at Mahakal forest and they became protected. Due to that, he became a king in this birth. Sage Agastya explained to the king about the greatness of Mahakal forest and then the king worshipped that Linga. Lord Shiva appeared there and blessed him that he will fulfill his Dharma and Khandvrath and he will also reach Heaven after death. Due to the completion of Khandvrath, the Linga came to be known as Khandeshwar. Whoever worships this Linga, their Dharma and Vrath will be completed and will reach Heaven after death.