तुंगनाथ मंदिर उत्तराखंड | Tungnath Yatra 2024 | Tungnath Temple Trek | Vlogs Rahul

तुंगनाथ मंदिर उत्तराखंड | Tungnath Yatra 2024 | Tungnath Temple Trek | Vlogs Rahul

Tungnath yatra 2024
Tungnath trek
Tungnath temple uttarakhand
Tungnath trek 2024

Tungnath is one of the highest Shiva temples in the world and is the highest of the five Panch Kedar temples located in the Rudraprayag district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand The Tungnath literal meaning Lord of the peaks mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys It is located at an altitude of 3680 m 12073 ft and just below the peak of Chandrashila It has a rich legend linked to the Pandavas heroes of the Mahabharata epic

According to Hindu history Shiva and his wife Parvati both reside in the Himalayas Shiva resides at Mount Kailash Parvati is also called Shailaputri which means Daughter of the Mountain Many folk legends related to the Garhwal region Shiva and the creation of the Panch Kedar temples are narrated in Hindu epic Mahabharata The Pandavas defeated and slayed their cousins the Kauravas in the epic Kurukshetra war They wished to atone for the sins of committing fratricide gotra hatya and Brahmanahatya killing of Brahmins the priest class during the war Thus they handed over the reins of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of Shiva and to seek his blessings First they went to the holy city of Varanasi mKashi believed to be Shiva favourite city and known for its Kashi Vishwanath Temple But Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was therefore insensitive to Pandavas prayers Therefore he assumed the form of a bull Nandi and hid in the Garhwal region
As per the Hindu mythology not finding Shiva in Varanasi the Pandavas went to Garhwal Himalayas Bhima the second of the five Pandava brothers then standing astride two mountains started to look for Shiva He saw a bull grazing near Guptakashi hidden Kashi the name derived from the hiding act of Shiva Bhima immediately recognized the bull to be Shiva Bhima caught hold of the bull by its tail and hind legs But the bull formed Shiva disappeared into the ground to later reappear in parts with the hump raising in Kedarnath the arms appearing in Tungnath the face showing up at Rudranath the nabhi navel and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar and the hair appearing in Kalpeshwar The Pandavas pleased with this reappearance in five different forms built temples at the five places for venerating and worshipping Shiva The Pandavas were thus freed from their sins

A variant of the tale credits Bhima of not only catching the bull but also stopping it from disappearing Consequently the bull was torn asunder into five parts and appeared at five locations in the Kedar Khand of Garhwal region of the Himalayas The arms in Tungnath the hump in Kedarnath the face in Rudranath the navel in Madhyamaheshwar and the hair in Kalpeshwar After building the Panch Kedar Temples the Pandavas meditated at Kedarnath for salvation performed yagna fire sacrifice and then through the heavenly path called the Mahapanth also called Swargarohini attained heaven or salvation The Panch Kedar Temples are constructed in the North Indian Himalayan Temple Katyuri architecture with the Kedarnath Tungnath and Madhyamaheshwar temples looking similar
Legend also states that Rama the central character of Ramayana meditated at the Chandrashila peak which is close to Tungnath in India It is also said that Ravana performed penance to Shiva the lord of the peaks when he resided here

The 5 km 3.1 mi trek starts from Chopta 9600 ft 2926 m the nearest place on the NH 58. Chopta is 23.9 km 15 mi from Rudraprayag towards Karnaprayag and is reached from Rishikesh via Devprayag Srinagar and Rudraprayag
Of all the Panch Kedar trek routes the route to Tungnath is the shortest only 5 km 3.1 mi from Chopta on the Ukhimath Gopeshwar road that can be covered in approximately 4 5 hours depending on the trekker physical ability Trek is a steep climb 9600 11350 ft 2926 3459 m the trek path is stone paved with benches provided en route at intervals The path is surrounded by scenic views and captivating flora and fauna on both sides Generally the pilgrimage to Tunganath is undertaken as part of the Panch Kedar trekking covering all five temples over a 170 km 105.6 mi route road cum trek length starting from Rishikesh in the order of Kedarnath Tungnath Rudranath Madhyamaheswar and Kalpeshwar The few pilgrims who undertake this trekking pilgrimage to the shrine do so in summer months end April or early May to October as the temple remains snow bound and unapproachable During this period even Chopta the nearest road head remains deserted But it is said that few adepts come to the area during the winter avoiding the pilgrims The steep climb to Chandarshila is for 2 km 1.2 mi
The nearest airport is Jolly Grant Dehradun 258 km 160 mi The nearest railway station is at Rishikesh 241 km 150 mi

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