Situated amongst the wondrous mountains of Tungnath in the Rudraprayag District, Tungnath Temple is the highest Shiva temple in the world nestled at an altitude of 3680 meters. It is one of the Panch Kedars and is believed to have belonged to an ancient era almost 1000 years old.
Situated amongst the wondrous mountains of Tungnath in the Rudraprayag District, Tungnath Temple is the highest Shiva temple in the world nestled at an altitude of 3680 meters. It is one of the Panch Kedars and is believed to have belonged to an ancient era almost 1000 years old.
The foundation of this temple was laid down by Arjuna who was the third of the Pandava brothers. It was built in the North Indian style of architecture and has a dozen shrines of other Gods surrounding the temple.
There are numerous tales associated with the place including the one where Lord Ram carried out meditation to get himself released from the curse of Brahmahatya for killing Ravana. The distinguishing feature of this exquisite beauty is its location amidst beautiful mountain ranges and religious importance which has been attracting millions of Hindu pilgrims from around the world in the last five years.
It is a fantastic place to visit especially for the adventure lovers out there for they are going to have a great time trekking to reach the temple. It is a perfect combination of spirituality, beauty, and serenity thereby making it a sure-shot and an ideal getaway for all the tourists.
According to the legend that is associated with the Tungnath Temple, it is believed that the Pandavas started on their journey to find Lord Shiva after killing their cousins in the Kurukshetra war. However, since Lord Shiva was angry about all the deaths, he wanted to avoid them as a result of which he turned into a bull and disappeared in the ground with all his body parts scattered in different places.
His hump appeared at Kedarnath, bahu at Tungnath, head at Rudranath, stomach and navels at Madhyamaheshwar and jata at Kalpeshwar. A temple was built by the Pandavas at this place to worship Lord Shiva and please him. The name of the temple has been derived as 'Tung' meaning arms and 'Nath' symbolizing Lord Shiva.
