AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Shree Gourakhnath Mandir is a Hindu temple on Ujjain Road in the Itawa neighborhood of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, dedicated to Guru Gorakhnath — the legendary Nath yogi and saint revered across India as a master of Hatha Yoga and an incarnation of Lord Shiva.↗↗
The temple holds a special place in Dewas's religious calendar as the traditional starting point of the grand Goga Navami procession, a night-time festival where thousands of devotees gather, carry elaborate tableaus and banners, and march through the city's main roads to Meetha Talab.↗
For visitors interested in living folk traditions of western Madhya Pradesh, this modest neighborhood temple offers a genuine window into the Nath Sampradaya's enduring influence on local community worship and festival culture.↗↗
Who Is Gorakhnath?
Guru Gorakhnath (also spelled Gaurakhnath, Gourakhnath, or Gorakhnath) is one of the most venerated saints in the Nath Sampradaya, a Shaiva tradition of yogi ascetics. Classical sources place him between the 9th and 12th centuries CE, though devotional traditions regard him as timeless — an avatar of Lord Shiva himself. He is credited as the systematizer of Hatha Yoga and the author of numerous spiritual texts. His most famous math (monastery) is in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, but his influence spreads across India in countless smaller shrines, each serving as a local focal point for Nath devotees.
