Lingda

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Lingda is a small village in Anand district, Gujarat, in Umreth taluka along the Nadiad-Dakor road. About 6,000 people live here. The village is best known for the Siddhanath Mahadev Shivalaya, a temple devoted to Shiva. Local legends say a self-manifested Rudraksha Shivling sits in the sanctum and that an ancient Siddhn Kund lies nearby. The site is tied to the Mahabharata era and to Bhima, who is said to have helped establish the temple.

The temple complex includes several shrines and a nearby Sai Baba temple. A water tank called Vavadi nearby is famous for supposedly never drying up. The story also tells of King Siddharaj Jay Singh renovating the temple and of hidden treasure guarded by a serpent.

In 1856 a plague forced villagers to move and rebuild the settlement, and around 1990 the temple area was renovated with marble and new facilities, including a kitchen and a priest’s residence. A local group, Siddhanath Sundarakand Mandal, preserves the temple’s traditions.

Lingda lies about 4 km from Umreth, 11 km from Dakor, 19 km from Anand and NH-8, and 22 km from Nadiad. The area has about 15 ponds and a network of canals that irrigate most farmland, with the water table typically 10–20 feet deep.