Ukhi math Temple Uttrakhand

Ukhimath Temple is a Hindu pilgrimage site in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. It is situated at a height of about1310 meters and at a distance of 41 km from Rudraprayag. During the winters, the idols from Kedarnath temple, and Madhyamaheshwar are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped here for six months. 
According to Hindu Mythology, Wedding of Usha (Daughter of Vanasur) and Anirudh (Grandson of Lord Krishna) was solemnized here. By name of Usha this place was named as Ushamath, now known as Ukhimath. During winter the Utsav Doli of Lord Kedarnath is brought from Kedarnath to this place. Winter puja of Lord Kedarnath and year-round puja of Lord Omkareshwar is performed here.

Triyuginarayan Temple Uttrakhand

Triyuginarayan Temple is a Hindu temple located in the Triyuginarayan village in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand. The ancient temple is dedicated to Bhagwan Vishnu. Its fame is credited to the legend of Lord Shiva’s marriage to goddess Parvati witnessed by Vishnu at this venue and is thus a popular pilgrimage centre. A special feature of this temple is a perpetual fire, that burns in front of the temple. The flame is believed to burn from the times of the divine marriage.Thus, the temple is also known as Akhand Dhuni temple.

Legend

Triyuginarayan is the venue of the celestial marriage of Shiva and Parvati, during the Satya Yuga, witnessed in the presence of the holy fire that still burns eternally in front of the temple in a Havana-kund or Agni-kund. Bhagwan Vishnu formalized the wedding and acted as Parvati's brother in the ceremonies, while the creator-god Brahma acted as the priest of the wedding, that was witnessed by all the sages of the times. According to Hindu mythology, goddess Parvati was daughter of Himavat or Himavan - the personification of the Himalayas. She was the rebirth of Sati, the first wife of Shiva - who sacrificed her life when her father insulted Shiva. Parvati initially tried to allure Shiva by her beauty, but failed. Finally, she won Shiva by practising rigorous penance at Gauri Kund, which is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away from Triyuginarayan. Pilgrims visiting Triyuginaryan temple also visit the Gauri Kund temple, dedicated to Parvati, which is the base camp for trek to Kedarnath Temple. Mythology states that Shiva proposed to Parvati at Guptakashi, before they got married in the small Triyuginarayan village at the confluence of Mandakini and Sone-Ganga rivers.

Guptkashi temple Uttrakhand

Guptakashi Temple is located at an elevation of 1,319 metres (4,327 ft) , in Garhwal region of Rudraprayag district in Uttrakhand. It is also known as Vishwanath Temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva, and this temple is similar to the one in Varanasi (Kashi). The other well known temple here is dedicated to Ardhanareshvara, a half man half woman form of Shiva and Parvati. The name Guptakashi has legendary significance linked to the Pandavas. Its religious importance is considered next to that of Varanasi, the most pious of all Hindu pilgrimage places.

The temple town is located on the way to the Kedarnath. It has the scenic backdrop of the snow-covered peaks and enjoys a salubrious weather throughout the year

Ganga & Yamuna streams

Cleansing before Darshan

Ardhnarishwar Temple

Nandi ji

Legend

 Legend holds that after the Kurukshetra war of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas wished to atone for their sins of fratricide committed by them during the war by seeking pardon from Shiva and also pray for his blessings before attaining salvation. But Shiva was not willing to meet them since he was annoyed with them for the unjust events of the war. He, therefore, avoided meeting them at Kashi and went incognito as the bull Nandi to Guptakashi in Uttarakhand. But Pandavas pursued him to Guptakashi and recognized him in the disguised form of Nandi. When Bhima, the second Pandava brother tried to hold the bull by its tail and hind legs, Nandi vanished from Guptakashi, into the ground (into a cave for hiding), but reappeared later as Shiva in five different forms namely, hump at Kedarnath, face at Rudranath, arms at Tungnath, navel and stomach at Madhyamaheshwar and the locks at Kalpeshwar. The vanishing act of Shiva gave the name Guptakashi (hidden Kashi) to this place on the bank of the Mandakini River.

Mythology also states that Shiva proposed to Parvati at Guptakashi before they got married in the small Triyuginarayan village at the confluence of Mandakini and Sone-Ganga rivers.

Badrinath Temple Uttrakhand

Badrinath or Badrinarayan Temple is a  temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand The temple  form one of the four Char Dhams. It is open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), because of extreme weather conditions in this region. The temple is located in Garhwal hills along the banks of Alaknanda River at a height of 10,279 ft above the mean sea level.

The image of the presiding deity in the temple is a 1 m  tall, black stone statue of Vishnu in the form of Badrinarayan. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta kshetras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu.

The  moorti  of Badrinarayan,  is housed in a gold canopy under a Badri Tree. The sanctum also houses images of the god of wealth—Kubera, sage Narada, Uddhava, Nar and Narayan.  Other moortis in this temple include that of Lakshmi , Garuda  and Navadurga, the manifestation of Durga in nine different forms.  The conical-shaped roof of the sanctum, the garbhagriha, is covered with a gold gilt roof.

The Tapt Kund, a group of hot sulphur springs just below the temple, are considered to be medicinal; many pilgrims consider it a requirement to bathe in the springs before visiting the temple.  The two water ponds in the temple are called Narad Kund and Surya Kund.

History

 According to some accounts, the temple was a Buddhist shrine till the 8th century and Adi Shankara converted it to a Hindu temple.^[
 It is believed that Shankaracharya  resided in the place for six years from ad 814 to 820. He resided six months in Badrinath and the rest of the year in Kedarnath. He discovered the image of Badrinath in the Alaknanda River and enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs.

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Kedar nath Temple Uttrakhand

Kedar nath Temple Uttrakhand

 is a famous Shiva temple located in the Garhwal range near  Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand .  The temple is open only between the end of  May to  November. During the winters, the deities  from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped there for six months. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the 'Lord of Kedar Khand'.

The temple was built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharyaand is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva. Pandavas were supposed to have pleased Shiva by doing penance in Kedarnath. The temple is one of the four major sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas. 

The temple is situated at an height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), 223 km from Rishikesh, on the shores of Mandakini river, a tributary of Ganga. The  temple is believed to have been constructed in the 8th century CE, when Adi Shankara visited. The present structure is on a site adjacent to where Pandavas are believed to have built the temple. It has one Garbhagriha and a Mandapa,  surrounded by snow clad mountain and glaciers. In front of the temple, directly opposite to the inner shrine, is a Nandi statue carved out of rock.

History

According to History, during the Mahabharatha War, the Pandavas killed their relatives. To absolve themselves of this sin, the Pandavas undertook a pilgrimage. But Lord Vishweshwara was away in Kailasa in the Himalayas. On learning this, the Pandavas left Kashi. They reached the Himalayas via Haridwar. They saw Lord Shankara from a distance. But Lord Shankara hid from them. Then Dharmaraj said: "Oh, Lord, You have hidden yourself from our sight because we have sinned. But, we will seek You out somehow. Only after we take your Darshan would our sins be washed away. This place, where You have hidden Yourself will be known as Guptakashi and become a famous shrine."

From Guptakashi (Rudraprayag), the Pandavas went ahead till they reached Gaurikund in the Himalayas valleys. They wandered there in search of Lord Shankara. While doing so Nakul and Sahadev found a buffalo which was unique to look at.

Then Bheema went after the buffalo with his mace. The buffalo was clever and Bheema could not catch him. But Bheema managed to hit the buffalo with his mace. The buffalo had its face hidden in a crevice-in the earth. Bheema started to pull it by its tail. In this tug-of war, the face of the buffalo went straight to Nepal, leaving its hind part in Kedar. The face is Doleshwar Mahadev in Sipadol, Bhaktapur, Nepal.

On this hind part of Mahesha, a JyotirLinga appeared and Lord Shankara appeared from this light. By getting a Darshan of Lord Shankar, the pandavas were absolved of their sins. The Lord told the Pandavas, "From now on, I will remain here as a triangular shaped JyotirLinga. By taking a Darshan of Kedarnath, devotees would attain piety". A triangular shaped rock is worshiped in Garbhagriha of the temple.