• All you wanted to know about Tungnath Temple.

 Many ancient temples of Shiv ji are built in India and many other countries around the globe for e.g. Indonesia.

All ancient temples of Shiv ji located in India or any corner of the world have different religious significance. Today, the ancient temple of Shiv ji , which I am going to tell you about, is Tungnath Mahadev. This ancient Shiva temple is the highest Shiva temple in the world.

The ancient temples of Shiv ji located in Uttarakhand are Kedarnath, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar, and Kalpeshwar. Together, they are called Panch Kedar.

Among the Panch Kedar temples, the Tungnath Mahadev Temple is placed at number three. According to Indic tradition, all these Shiv temples were built by the Pandavas after the war of Mahabharata.

Before I talk about the Mahabharata, let me tell you that that Tungnath Temple's history is related to the Mahabharata period and is also directly related to Sri Ram and Ravana.

It is said that Sri Ram meditated at a place called Chandrashila, located a short distance from Tungnath. When the Lord resided at this place, Ravana also did penance at the same place to please Shiv ji. Now we come back to the time of Mahabharata.

After the end of the war of Mahabharata, sage Vyas told the Pandavas that - "During the battle of Kurukshetra, you five brothers killed your cousins ​​and relatives; therefore you are all guilty of fratricide, and you have committed this sin only. And only Shiv ji can forgive. "

Thus, the five Pandavas went in search of Shiv ji.  But Bhagwan Shiva was very angry because of the crimes committed. Due to this, Shiv ji took the form of an ox to avoid seeing the Pandavas and hid at a secret place in Kashi.

 But the Pandavas reached Kashi looking for Shiv ji. After that, Bhagwan Shiv appeared in the form of a bull, and later five different parts appear.

According to tradition, the upper part of Lord Shiva appeared in Kathmandu (Nepal) where his temple is known as Pashupatinath. Shiv ji’s back appeared in Kedarnath, Arms in Tungnath, Mouth in Rudranath, Navel in Madhyamaheshwar, and Jata in Kalpeshwar. 

For this reason, all these temples located in Uttarakhand are called Panchkedar.

The Pandavas built temples of Shiv ji in all these places where He appears in different forms. So that they could apologize to Lord Shiva in all these places and please him. After that Bhagwan Shiv was satisfied with the penance carried out by the Pandavas He blessed them and freed them from the crime of brotherly murder.

Tungnath during winters.

The Architecture of Tungnath Temple

The Tungnath temple is believed to be more than 1000 years old. The architecture of the main temple is similar to the architecture of the Kedarnath temple. Several small temples are also built around the Tungnath temple in North Indian style.

The Shiva lingam is located in the temple's sanctum. It is made of black stone. Apart from this, a pratima of Ganesha is engraved on the right side of the entrance of the temple. Pratimas of Vyas Rishi, Kaal Bhairava, and Ashta Metal are also installed in the temple premises. 

Apart from this, a silver replica of the four Kedar temples and pictures of Pandavas are also engraved. The shikhara of the temple is decorated with giant stone slabs.

Worship at Tungnath Temple

Whereas the priests of other Kedar temples come from South India, the priests of the Tungnath temple come from a local Brahmin family.

The priest of the temple is a resident of Makku village located nearby. Due to excessive snowfall during the winter season, the shrine of the Tungnath temple is closed for six months. And the symbolic image of Lord Shiva is taken to Makumath, 29 km from Tungnath, where Shiv ji is worshiped for the next six months.

Geography of Tungnath

Temple is at a height of 3680 meters (12070 feet) above sea level. It is located in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.

Holy rivers like Mandakini and Alaknanda form the Tungnath mountain range. Apart from these two rivers, the Peak of Tungnath Mountain is also considered the source of the three waterfalls flowing here, from which the Akashmani river is formed. Chandrashila is about a 1.5 km walk from Tungnath. Tungnath is a 4 kms trek from Chopta.

Author Bio - Trend Around Us is a team of travel enthusiasts working nonstop to bring you quality content and exciting travel stories.

Also read

1. About Panchkedar in Hindi

2. About Char Dham Yatra

3. Albums Badrinath and Kedarnath

4. About Chopta