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Photo: Amitabha Gupta, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
According to a popular belief, the legendary Raja Banasura, an ardent devotee of Shiva had made the latter agree to come down to earth. When Shiva was following Raja Banasura, the latter suddenly stopped at Baneswar, which was a breach of the agreement. Shiva instantly disappeared and later established a Shivalinga on the banks of the Bangti River. The present structure is squarish with a dome and a slightly curved cornish. It has two entrances, one on the west and the other on the east. There are some decorated narrow strips on the walls. It has a raised platform in the front. There is a bull made of cement on the right. There is a big pond called Shivpukur, which is a habitat of many black softshell turtles, which are locally known as Mōhon (মোহন) and are sacred.
Baneswar Shiva temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located at Baneswar in the Cooch Behar II CD block in the Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision of the Cooch Behar district in West Bengal, India. Here, Shiva is worshipped in the form of Baneswar.
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A brick-built structure with an unusual octagonal shape and a dome on top of it, the temple is an example of British architectural influence. There is a raised platform in front of the temple. The four-handed goddess Siddheswari is worshipped as a form of the goddess Kali.