It was from this temple the tradition of pilgrimage to the sacred lake started, Mauritius

This beautiful Hindu temple in Triolet is among the most important temples. It is not only one of the oldest and largest, dating back to 1891. It is of historical significanse and famous because of it's connection to the first pilgrimage to the sacred lake in the center of the island. This pilgrimage that many Mauritian Hindus will take part in, has become a tradition for the Maha Shrivarati festival since 1897. Last week I did a post from the Maha Shrivarati festival and the pilgrimage in the year 2025. Check the post where I explain more about the festival and the pilgrimage.

The principle temple

This week I have visited the temple where this tradition started – The Maheswarnath Shiv Mandir Temple. The town, Triolet is a very «Indian» looking town. Most of the inhabitants are Hindus. It was only a few days after the festival itself that I found out that the tradition of the pilgrimage to Grand Bassin started here. Since Triolet is only a five kilometer walk from where I am staying, I decided to pay the temple a visit. The temple covers quite a large area and consists of many different buildings. The architecture is the so-called Bengal style. The principle temple is richly decorated with exquite figures and pastel colors. A very different style from other Hindu temples I have seen on the island.

The history of the temple

This temple which is more than 130 years old, was founded by a man called Pandit Sajibon, who came from Calcutta in India to Mauritius. He became a wealthy land ovner in Triolet. In 1895 he donated part of his land to the Hindu community. At that time (between 1880 – 1920s) many of the sugar estate started to sell part of their land. Part of the land is where a sugar factury once was located. All these old factories had a chimney. What he did on his piece of land was demolishing the chimney. What he didn't know, was that this was not allowed ( today the remaining chimneys are part of the national heritage). So, when he built the temple, he made sure that the principle temple had the same hight as the chimney once had.

How this tradition of pilgramage started

The first pilgrimage took place in 1897. The backgroud for starting this tradition was because a priest had a dream. He dreamed about the water that makes up the Lake Talao at Grand Bassin, being part of Ganga (The River Ganges in India). This dream then caused a stir among the Hindus when his dream was spread around the island.

It was first a year later that a couple of priests, together with nine people from Triolet, did the trek to Grand Bassin to collect water. They then returned to Triolet with the water to offer it to Lord Shiva for the Maha Shrivarti festival. This festival takes place once a year. After this first pilgrimage, Hindus from all over the island started to do this pilgrimage each year. The lake, Ganga Talao is to the Hindus seen as an equivalent to the sacred Ganges River in India.

This pilgrimage has a tradition of walking with «kanwars» - a special structure made of both material on a bamboo kind of structure. It is decorated with Hindu devinities and are either carried on the shoulders or pulled on wheels. check my previous post and you will see these some of these amazing structures. I certainly was impressed!

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Maha Shivaratri – the largest pilgrimage that takes place on the island of Mauritius

U.J

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All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)

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