The famous Mukteshwar Shivdham of Nainital is known as the ancient Pandava cave. It is located in the Shivalik hills. It is said that this temple was developed by the Pandavas and is more than 350 years old. This Dham is also called Chhota Haridwar.
The Pandavas had installed the Shivling in the caves. Mukteshwar Dham is situated at Pathankot, 22 Km from district headquarter, 4 Km from Mirthal, and 7 Km from Indora at the meeting point of Beas and Choch rivers on the banks of the Ravi river.
This Shivdham is situated in village Dhung between the Ranjit Sagar Dam and Shahpur Kandi Dam, which is under construction.
According to the legend, Yudhishthira stayed here with his four brothers and Draupadi for about six months in Dwapar Yuga. He had installed Shivling in the caves here.
On the side of the road, there is a board from the Archaeological Department. It is from here that the noise of the river Ravi starts being heard. The river Nirmal Dhara is also seen flowing between the hills at great depth. After descending 164 steps, one reaches the temple complex, where there are four caves that are witness to the Mahabharata period.
In the temple premises, Draupadi’s kitchen, the family meeting room is still there in one of the two caves below. The remaining three caves are at a slight elevation. In one of these, the bodyguard assistant Teli was fitted with the kohlu to keep him awake at night. One cave was reserved for Draupadi, and the fourth was used to store milk and food. One of the holiest places around Pathankot, the main cave of this mukteshwar temple, houses the idols of Ganesh, Brahma, Vishnu, Hanuman, and Goddess Parvati. A fair is also held here on Amavasya, Navratri, Baisakhi and Shivratri.