Shri Alkheswar Mahadev Mandir, Bera

Shri Alkheswar Mahadev Mandir stands in the village of Bera in Mathura district. It is dedicated to Shiva as Alkheshwar Mahadev, known locally as Alakh Baba, and its construction is attributed to the Jayas in ancient times. The Shiva idol in the main shrine was found in Alkheswar Kund, the pond beside the temple.

The complex is entered through two large gates and holds shrines to many deities, including Ram and Sita, Ganesha, Brahma, Durga, Radha and Krishna, Shani and Hanuman, as well as a havan kund. Devotees come from early morning to late evening, and crowds swell at Holi, Diwali and above all Mahashivratri, when music and dancing fill the grounds; the Alkheshwar Mandir Samiti also holds a fair here each March. The kund is home to fish, snails, turtles and snakes, has old wells in its middle, and draws migratory birds in winter.