Lord Brahma idol ... there is one in Garh Mukteswar too!

I, like many others, always thought there was only one temple dedicated to Lord Brahma - creator of universe - in the world, and that was in Pushkar in the Indian state of Rajasthan. But when I searched over the Internet I found out there were other places that had Lord Brahma temples or idols (Wikipedia). However, no where is it mentioned that there is one Lord Brahma idol also in Garh Mukteswar.

This idol is adjacent to the Goddess Ganga temple. Lord Brahma's idol is placed here - as per the priest of the temple, Sri Anil Kumar Tiwari - because Goddess Ganga reveres Lord Brahma as her father. There are other beliefs about Ganga's birth, however, all declare her to be raised under the guardianship of Lord Brahma. The idol of Lord Brahma used to sit next to Goddess Ganga's idol but now it has been moved into a new room. The difference between this idol and the one in Pushkar is that this one is carved out of white stone and the idol is depicted as sitting, unlike in Pushkar where the idol is carved out of black stone and is standing.

There was a Sanskrit phrase written on the walls of the temple that translates into: One attains Nirvaan if s/he take a dip in the waters of river Ganga during months of Ashaad at Ganga Sagar (where Ganga merges with the Indian Ocean), during months of Kaartik at Garh Mukteswar, during months of Vaisaakh at Hardwar and during the months of Maagh at Allahabad (Link to Hindu Calendar).

There's also a Lord Ram temple in the vicinity. All these temples are situated up on a hill and there are 101 steps leading to the temples. There is a mysterious sound associated with these steps.  If one walks down the steps, the sound reverberating from the foots is that of pebbles thrown in a river or lake... amazing!! The sound can only be heard by someone standing on the top of the hill and not by the person walking down ... 

Another uncommon thing I noticed was the presence of the priestess (Smt Maheshwari Kaushik) and not a priest in the Lord Ram temple. She told me that her family has been taking care of the Lord Ram temple for last 18 generations. One can thus imagine how old the temple must be. One unique thing about the Lord Ram idol here is that its is carved out of a black stone, unlike any other Lord Ram idol one must have seen. There is another in Nasik in Maharashtra also in black stone.

The priest at the temple told us that till 1947 river Ganga was flowing just a few yards from the steps. However now it is not even visible even from the hill top. According to the priest there are plans towards bringing Ganga closer to the temple in the form of a men-made canal.

I asked him about the name Garh Mukteswar. Contrary to what others on the Brij Ghat told me - related to Garhwal rulers - he had a different but a more likely version. According to him the city was called Shiv Vallabhpur initially and then the name was changed to Gan Mukteeswar (Gan: People - here depicting followers of Lord Shiva; Muktee: Nirvaan; Iswar: Lord Shiva). It slowly changed to Garh Mukteswar. It is believed that it is the Mukeswar temple in Garh Mukteswar where Lord Shiva's followers were absolved of their sins and attained Nirvaan (Nirvana). Mukteswar Temple Nakka Kuan (नक्का कुवाँ)  - dedicated to Lord Shiva - is another famous temple in the city and is presently occupied and taken care of by the followers of Lord Shiva belonging to the Juna Akhara.