Tungnath Temples are the five and highest Panch Kedar temples located in the "Tongnath Parvat" range in the Rudraprayag district of Garhwal, Uttarakhand. This temple is built at an altitude of about 3,680 meters above sea level. The Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys are formed in the Tungnath (meaning lord of the peaks) mountains. This temple is believed to be more than 1000 years old and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is worshiped in this temple in the form of "Panchkedar".
Tungnath Temple is situated almost in between Kedarnath and Badrinath Temple. According to the belief, Lord Shiva bestows special grace on the devotees who come here, while almost every wish sought here is also fulfilled soon. This temple is the second among the Panchkedars, the famous Tungnath temple is known as Kedar and is situated on the highest point among the Panch Kedars. It is believed that this temple was built by the Pandavas to please Lord Shiva, who was angry with the Pandavas due to the massacre in Kurukshetra. The peak of Tungnath is the source of three streams, from which the Akshkamini river is formed. The temple is located 3 km away from Chopta. It is said that to please Shiva, Mata Parvati did penance here before marriage.
Natural beauty like switzerland
Situated at an altitude of twelve to fourteen thousand feet, this area is one of the most beautiful places in the Garhwal Himalayas. The beauty of this place, usually covered with a sheet of snow in the months of January-February, is seen in the months of July-August. The velvety meadows spread for miles in these months and the beauty of the flowers blooming in them are worth seeing. So experienced tourists do not hesitate to compare it with Switzerland.
The most important thing is that this is the only area in the entire Garhwal region where one can directly enter the world of Bugyal by bus. That is, this extraordinary area is within easy reach of devotees and tourists. Tungnath Tourist Place
This entire area is called the area of Panchkedar. The journey continues from Rishikesh to the banks of Alaknanda via Srinagar Garhwal. On reaching Rudraprayag, if you want to follow the path of Ukhimath, then you will have to leave Alaknanda and enter the Mandakini valley. From here the road is narrow. So the driver has to be very careful while driving. The road is very beautiful. Continuing further, there is a small town called Agastya Muni, from where the Nandkhat peak of the Himalayas can be seen.
On the way to Chopta, the dense forest and the beautiful view of bamboo and thunder attracts tourists. Chopta is situated at an altitude of twelve thousand feet above sea level. After a walk of three kilometers from here, at an altitude of thirteen thousand feet, there is the Tungnath temple, which is one of the Panchkedars. The three kilometer walk from Chopta to Tungnath provides an insight into the beautiful world of Bugyal. There is an ancient Shiva temple here. After climbing a height of one and a half km from this ancient Shiva temple, there is a peak named Chandrashila at a height of fourteen thousand feet. Where the huge form touching the Himalayas in front can surprise anyone. In the silence that surrounds you, it seems as if both you and nature have come here and become one. The view of the beautiful range of the forest and the valley emerging from Tungnath is very unique. Deohariya Tal can be reached by covering a distance of about eight kilometers from Chopta in the south direction of Tungnath temple. There is some special feature of this lake which makes it different from other lakes. In this transparent lake, pictures of snow-capped peaks like Chaukhamba, Neelkanth etc. are clearly visible. The total diameter of this lake is five hundred meters. It is surrounded by dense forests of bamboo and burrs, while on the other side there is an open field. There is also a musk deer breeding farm on the road from Chopta to Gopeshwar. Here the beauty of musk deer can be seen up close. In the month of March-April, the flowers of Buransh spread their unique shade throughout this route. In the month of January-February, this entire area remains covered with snow.
"The British commissioner Atkinson said of Chopta that a person who has not seen Chopta in his lifetime is meaningless to be born on this earth."
This statement of Atkinson may seem redundant to some people, but the beauty here is amazing, there can be no doubt about it. For a tourist, this journey is nothing less than an adventure.
Natural beauty of the temple in the lap of Himalaya Mountains
Built amidst the beautiful natural beauty of the Himalayan Mountains, this temple is a center of attraction for pilgrims and tourists. This temple is very important for the travelers visiting Chardham. At the entrance of the temple there is an idol of "Nandi", an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, who is going to the holy place. The priests of the temple are local Brahmins of Makkamath village.
The architectural style of the Tungnath temple is similar to that of the temples of Guptkashi, Madhyameshwar and Kedarnath. The architecture of the temple is built in the North Indian style and there are many small shrines of different deities around the temple. The sacred part of the temple is a sacred black rock, which is the Swayamandala or the self-manifested-linga. The temples inside the temple enclosure are made of stone and on the outside are painted paintings. The roofs of the temple are also made of stone slabs. To the right of the entrance of the temple is an image of Lord Ganesha.
The main sanctum sanctorum of the temple also houses the idols of Ashutu (eight metal structure) sage Vyasa and Kaal Bhairav (half-god). The temple also has images of Pandavas and silver plaques from the other four Kedar temples. There is also a small temple for Goddess Parvati (wife of Shiva) and a group of five smaller temples dedicated to Panch Kedar, including Tungnath. To reach all the Kedars of Panch, one has to walk on foot and all the Panch Kedars are located here. a height. All these remain closed in winters as the entire area is covered with snow during that time.Beliefs related to Tungnath Temple
About Tungnath Temple It is believed that this temple was built by the Pandavas to please Lord Shiva, who was angered by the massive bloodshed in Kurukshetra. The credit for the construction of this temple goes to "Arjuna", the third brother of the Pandavas. Arjuna built the temple with the lingam mandala—representing the God's arms—located in the Ganges Griha or the holy place.
This temple is associated with Shri Ram
At the same time, according to another belief, Tungnath, one of the five Kedars of Lord Mahadev, holds special importance in comparison to other Kedars because this place is also associated with Lord Rama. It is said that here Ramachandra spent some moments of his life in solitude. It is said in the Puranas that Ramachandra used to worship Shiva as his god. It is said that after killing Lankapati Ravana, Ramachandra came and meditated on Chandrashila at an altitude of fourteen thousand feet, one and a half kilometers away from Tungnath. Ramachandra had spent some time here.
