Tungnath Temple [UPSC Notes]

Tungnath temple will be declared a National Monument, according to a notification issued by the Central Government in March 2023. In this article, you can read about the Tungnath temple in Uttarakhand, this topic is relevant for the IAS exam art and culture segment.

Tungnath Temple

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• The Tungnath temple is located at an altitude of about 3680 m above sea level, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is the highest Shiva Shrine. 
  • Tungnath is the highest Shiva temple in the world and is one of the five and the highest Panch Kedar temples located in the mountain range of Tungnath in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.
• It is believed to have been discovered by Adi Shankaracharya.
• Tungath temple opens with the opening of the Char Dhams of Uttarakhand, during April or May each year on Vaisakh Panchmi and the auspicious date is decided by the Badri Kedar Temple Committee on Baisakhi. 
• As per folklore, Arjuna, the third brother of the Pandavas, laid the foundation of this temple. Featuring the North Indian style of architecture, shrines of other Gods also surround the temple.

Legends about the temple:

• One of the mythological legends about the history of Tungnath Temple is that after the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas reached the Himalayas in search of Lord Shiva to repent for killing their brothers and relatives. 
• Lord Shiva did not want to appear to the Pandavas, so he took the form of a buffalo.
• Still, the Pandavas recognized Lord Shiva, on which the Lord vanished into the ground at Guptkashi, but the Pandavas did not back out and the arms of Lord Shiva appeared in Tungnath in the form of a buffalo, since then the arms of the Lord are worshipped here.

What are Panch Kedars?

• Panch Kedar refers to a group of five sacred shrines of Lord Shiva located in the Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand.
• They are the subject of many legends that directly link their creation to Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
• The five temples are 
  • Kedarnath Temple
  • Tungnath Temple
  • Rudranath Temple 
  • Madhyamaheshwar Temple or Madmaheshwar
  • Kalpeshwar Temple

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