Markandeshwar Mahadev Temple, Shahabad Markanda

The Markandeshwar Mahadev temple is a Shiva shrine in the town of Shahabad Markanda, Kurukshetra district, about 20 km south of Ambala on the Ambala–Delhi stretch of the Grand Trunk Road. The town sits on the Markanda river, a tributary of the Ghaggar, which like the temple is named after the sage Markandeya, a devotee of Shiva.

Legend tells that Markandeya was fated to die at 16 and was praying to Shiva at this spot when Yama, god of death, came for him. Yama's noose fell around the linga instead, and Shiva burst out, fought Yama and granted the boy immortality. A scene of Shiva rescuing Markandeya from Yama appears on the temple walls. Tradition places the first shrine here before the Mahabharata, in the third millennium BC, but the present building dates from the early 20th century. Pilgrims come in large numbers on Sundays and through the month of Shravan (July–August).