Sidharth Malhotra In 'The Vvaan': Is The Story Of Bihar’s Mysterious Van Devi Temple True?

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Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia's 'The Vvaan: Force of the Forest' has brought attention to a little-known shrine near Bihta in Bihar. The film's story draws from folklore associated with the Maa Van Devi Temple, but several claims about the shrine have since circulated as established history. So, how much of the mysterious story is actually verified, and where does folklore begin?

Photo Credit: Instagram@filmelon/patna.press

Claim: The Van Devi Temple Is Real

Verdict: True

The Maa Van Devi Temple is a real place of worship near Bihta in Patna district, around 35 km from Patna. It is associated with the meeting point of Amhara, Raghopur and Kanchanpur villages. Unlike temples where devotees worship a conventional idol, Maa Van Devi is worshipped here in the form of a sacred pind.

The shrine continues to be associated with local religious traditions, making it more than simply a mysterious location brought into the spotlight by cinema.

Claim: It Is A 400-Year-Old Temple

Verdict: Partly verified

The shrine is widely described as around 350-400 years old, and filmmaker Arunabh Kumar has referred to its story as dating back to the 16th century. However, an independently established archaeological record confirming its exact age is not evident in the available reports.

The temple's present structure also developed much later. Reports say a more formal structure took shape around 1958, while local devotees undertook further development from February 12, 1997. The sacred pind, however, is said to have been worshipped at the site before the present temple existed.

Claim: Maa Van Devi Came From Maa Vindhyavasini

Verdict: Local folklore

According to a popular local legend, Vidyanand Mishra, a devotee from Raghopur, regularly travelled to Vindhyachal to worship Maa Vindhyavasini. As he grew older, the journey became difficult. The story says the goddess appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to bring a portion of her sacred pind closer to his home.

Mishra is believed to have established the sacred pind in the forested area, which eventually became associated with Maa Van Devi, or the Goddess of the Forest. This is an oral religious tradition, not independently established historical evidence.

Claim: Nobody Can Enter The Temple Or Forest After Sunset

Verdict: Traditional belief

The sunset tradition is real as a reported local practice or belief. Accounts say that the temple is closed after sunset and the priest leaves, with the area traditionally not visited at night. Writer Arunabh Kumar has specifically said that the tradition of people being forbidden from entering the forest after sunset was part of the folklore he encountered while researching the temple.

However, this should not be confused with a verified supernatural rule or a legal prohibition.

Claim: Maa Van Devi Roams The Temple At Night

Verdict: Unverified belief

Local folklore holds that once the temple is closed, Maa Van Devi herself is believed to roam the premises. There is no verified evidence of a supernatural presence at night. The claim belongs to the shrine's folklore and should be presented as a matter of faith rather than established fact.

So, How Much Of The Vvaan Is Real?

Verdict: The inspiration is real; the film is fiction.

Arunabh Kumar has said that he visited the temple and spoke to local people and priests before sharing its folklore with director Deepak Kumar Mishra. The filmmakers have therefore confirmed that the Van Devi tradition inspired The Vvaan.

But the film should not be treated as a factual retelling of the temple's history. The shrine is real, its worship traditions are real and its folklore has been passed down through generations. The supernatural events depicted on screen belong to the film's fictional interpretation.

The most accurate way to look at the Van Devi story, therefore, is simple: the temple is fact, its legends are folklore, and The Vvaan turns that folklore into cinema.