In 1999, the Naag Mandir at Nagigi, Labasa, was drawing visitors from across Fiji and overseas, with devotees travelling to the temple throughout the year to offer prayers.
At the centre of the temple was a mysterious stone, shaped like a snake’s head and believed by Hindus to be growing. The mandir, which had stood for about a century, had undergone four extensions as its following grew.
According to a report in The Fiji Times published on September 22, 1999, devotees believed visits to the temple brought healing, relief from distress and fulfilled wishes.
Pundit Ashok Maharaj, who conducted prayers at the temple, said the stone had been about five feet high when he was 10 years old but had grown to about 18 feet.
He also recounted the story of a European engineer who, in 1910 allegedly died instantly when trying to move the stone to make way for a road. Following the incident, Mr Maharaj said the road was then built some distance away.
He said descendants of South Indian girmitiya later began offering prayers at the stone after hearing about the incident and its association with Naag, the snake god.
Over time, word about the temple spread, attracting devotees from as far away as Singapore and India.
By 1999, the temple committee collected $50,000 in donations, with a new Shivalay Yagna Shaala under construction at a cost of about $60,000.
“We decided to build a Shivalay temple with 108 steps because God has 108 names, there are 108 mantras and the number is also very important for Sanatanis,” Mr Maharaj said.
Each step was sponsored for $100.25 by people in Fiji and abroad.
The temple’s surroundings held further mysteries. Mr Maharaj said several cave openings were located near the Naag Mandir, although no one knew where they ended. During the 1997 drought, he said, water flowed from one of the caves and became a drinking source for people in Nagigi and surrounding areas.
Mr Maharaj believed Naag resided in the cave and recalled accounts of people seeing the snake god emerge and sit on the stone.
“Certain people have experienced this, they have seen Naag coming out from nowhere and sitting on the stone.”
For devotees, the mystery was inseparable from faith.
“No one knows the mystery of the growing stone yet and to my knowledge no geologist has ever carried out any checks.”
