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Tungnath Temple
Tungnath Dham Chamoli
Tungnath:- Tungnath (3Kms.)
Situated at an elevation of about 3,680Mts.above sea level, the temple
is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Enroute exotic varieties of rhododendrons,
while flowers and shrub like trees can be seen in abundance. Kanchula Korak
Musk Deer Sanctuary (74Kms.) On the Chopta Gopeshwar road, Kanchula Korak
Musk Deer Sanctuary is famous for breeding musk deer.This Sanctuary covers
an area of 5 sq. Mts. and is an ideal place for tourists to view rare Himalayan
wildlife. This place is also popular for its dense forests and natural
aromatic
flowers.
Tungnath is situated in
the Chamoli district of Garhwal in Uttarakhand. located at an altitude
of 12,070 feet (3680 meters), is the third and highest of the Panch Kedar
or five Himalayan temples consecrated to Shiva. It is believed to contain
the arm as per the Panch Kedar tradition of Hinduism.
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All five of the Panch
Kedars are mostly accessible only on foot, and each are located at such
a great height that they close in the winter, since this is when they become
snowbound.
The footpath to Tungnath
starts at the small town of Chopta, and is a steep walk, reaching over
3000 feet in just 3.5 kilometers. You can hire a horse to ride up to the
temple. On the way, you will witness exotic forms of rhododendrons, wild
flowers and shrubs. Nestling among temperate forests, the origins of the
Tungnath temple are immersed in myths and legends. Locals consider the
temple to have been built by the Pandavas to propitiate Lord Shiva, who
had been angered by the large scale bloodshed at Kurukshetra. |
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Accessibility
You can take a bus or
taxi from Rishikesh via Rudraprayag and Chamoli to reach Chopta, the base
camp for the trek to Tungnath. Another possible route is via Ukhimath and
Doggalbitta on the Badri-Kedar path. From Chopta, a 3.5 kilometers' trek
will land you at Tungnath Temple.
Tungnath is the highest
temple of Lord Shiva perched at an elevation of 3,680 mts above sea level.
The sanctity of the region of is considered unsurpassed. Tungnath
is one of Panch Kedar and Shiva arm is worshipped here. The trek to highest
temple of Lord Shiva commences from Chopta. You can reach Tungnath by a
4km easy but steep trek. An hour climb from Tungnath will lead you to
from where you can enjoy 360 degree panoromic views of the gigantic Himalayas.
Tungnath (3810 m) - Tungnath
is the place where the arm (Bahu) of Shiva appeared.. The sanctity of the
region of Tungath is considered unsurpassed. The peak of Tungnath is the
source of three springs that from the river Akashkamini. At this temple
at 3,680 mts, Shiva's arm is worshipped. The highest hindu shrine in the
Himalayas, 3kms uphill from Chopta, Tungath is reached through a path that
wends through alpine meadows and rhododendron thickets. An hour's climb
from here leads to Chandrashila with its panoromic views. The entire journey
and the shrine are located in some of the finest, most picturesque pocket
of the Himalaya. |
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Tungnath is the highest temple
in the world and is one of the five and the highest Panch Kedar temples
located in the mountain range of Tunganath in the Chamoli district of Tehri
Garhwal, in Uttarakhand, India. The Tunganath (literal meaning is lord
of the peaks) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys.
Located at an altitude of 3,680 m (12,073.5 ft), the Tungnath temple is
the highest Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is believed
to be 1000 years old and is the second in the pecking order of the Panch
Kedars. It has a rich legend linked to the Pandavas, heroes of the epic
Mahabharata fame.
According to Hindu mythology
lord Shiva and his consort Parvati both reside in the Himalayas: Lord Shiva
at Mount Kailash and Parvati (Shail Putri) is considered to be the daughter
of hills.
The Tunganath myth is
indelibly linked to the origin of the Panch Kedar temples built by the
Pandavas. The legend states that sage Vyas Rishi advised the Pandavas that
since they were culpable to the slaying of their own relatives (Kauravas,
their cousins) during the Mahabharata war or Kurukshetra war, their offense
could be pardoned only by Lord Shiva. Consequently, the Pandavas went in
search of Shiva who was avoiding them since he was convinced of the guilt
of Pandavas. In order to keep away from them, Shiva took the form of a
bull and went into hiding in an underground safe haven at Guptakashi, where
Pandavas chased him. But later Shiva’s body in the form of bull’s body
parts rematerialized at five different locations that represent the “Panch
Kedar” where Pandavas built temples of Lord Shiva at each location, to
worship and venerate, seeking his pardon and blessings. Each one is identified
with a part of his body; Tungnath is identified as the place where the
bahu (hands) were seen: hump was seen at Kedarnath; head appeared at Rudranath;
his navel and stomach surfaced at Madhyamaheshwar; and his jata (hair or
locks) at Kalpeshwar.
Legend also states that
Lord Rama, the chief icon of the Ramayana epic, meditated at the Chandrashila
peak, which is close to Tungnath. It is also said that Ravana, also of
Ramayana fame did penance to Shiva, the lord of the peaks, when he resided
here.
It is an ancient temple
built in the North Indian style of temple architecture. It is small in
size and can barely accommodate ten people in the sanctum. Surrounding
this temple, there are a number of small shrines (about a dozen) of several
gods. The sanctum part of the temple abuts the hills where the sacred standing
black rock (swayambu or self manifest linga) with tilt to the left, of
1 ft (0.3 m) height, denoting the form of arms of Lord Shiva is worshipped.
The construction of this temple is credited to Arjuna, the third of the
Pandava brothers, who also worshiped here.
Just at the entrance,
at the end of the trek path to the temple, there is a gateway with name
Tungnath painted on the top of the arch, which is of recent construction.
A signage at the gate entrance gives distance to the temple as 4 km (2.5
mi) and also states that pilgrims unable to undertake the trek could leave
their donations in the box (kept next to the gate).
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The architectural design
of the temple is similar to the temples at Guptakashi, Madhyamaheshwar
and Kedarnath. The temples inside the enclosure are made of stones with
decorations painted on the outside and they depict tall towers. The highest
dome has a wooden stage at the top. The dome has sixteen openings (pictured).
The temple roofs are also made of stone slabs. At the entrance to the temple
there is a Nandi stone image facing towards the sanctum where Shiva’s idol
is deified. The Nandi’s flank is normally sanctified for worship with flowers
and with three lines (tripundra) in yellow clay, with a mark denoting Shiva's
third eye, which is symbolic to Shiva's devotees. |
At the right of the
temple entrance there is the mandatory image of Ganesha. In the main sanctum,
ashtadhatu (made of eight metals) idols of sage Vyas and Kala Bhairav (demi-god),
disciples of Shiva, are also installed in the sanctum sanctorum. The temple
also houses the images of the Pandavas and silver plaques of other four
Kedar shrines.
Among the smaller shrines,
the central temple is of goddess Parvati, Shiva’s consort. Away to the
far right there is a group of five small shrines dedicated to the Panch
Kedar, which include Tungnath also as one of the Panch Kedar, in addition
to the main Tunganath temple.
Near the Akash Ganga water
fall, close to Tungnath, a temple to Nanda Devi is located to denote that
it is descending from heaven. A 2.5 ft (0.8 m) statue of Adi Guru Shankaracharya
is installed next to the main deity of Shiva.
The priest at this temple
is a local Brahmin from Maku village, unlike the other Kedar temples where
the priests are from South India, a tradition set by the 8th century Hindu
guru Sankaracharya. It is also said that the Khasi Brahmins officiate as
priests at this temple. During the winter season, the temple is closed
and the symbolic image of the deity and the temple priests are moved to
Mukunath, which is 19 km (11.8 mi) from here. It is near Duggalbitha (10
km (6.2 mi) before Chopta towards Ukhimath.
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