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.