Rudranath Temple
Chamoli district of Garhwal, Uttarakhand state in India has a temple of Lord Shiva known as "Rudranath" which is one of the Panch Kedar. The first Kedar in the Panch Kedar is Lord Kedarnath, which is known as the twelve Jyotirlingas. The second Kedar is Madmaheshwar. The third Kedar is Tungnath, the fourth Kedar Rudranath and the fifth Kedar Kalpeshwar.
The height of this temple is 2,290 meters above sea level. Rudranath Yatra starts from the beautiful *Pung Bugyalon* of Uttarakhand by climbing about 4 km from Sagar village of Gopeshwar. Tourists and devotees cross the climb and reach the Pitradhar place where the temple of Lord Shiva, Parvati and Lord Vishnu is situated. Where devotees keep stones with the names of their ancestors. After covering a distance of about 10 km from Pitradhar, we reach *Rudranath Temple* (Rudranath Temple).
Rudranath is the form of Lord Shiva
Lord Shiva's face is worshiped in the Rudranath Temple while the whole body of Lord Shiva is worshiped in the form of *Pashupatinath* temple in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Rudranath temple is made of natural stones. There is Narad Kund before entering the temple. In which the devotees remove their tiredness by taking a bath and then proceed for darshan. Apart from this, there are holy kunds like Chandra Kund, Manakund, Surya Kund, Tar Kund etc. near Rudranath temple.
There is also Vaitarani Kund near the temple where the idol of Lord Vishnu is worshiped in the form of Shakti. On the other side of the temple there are five Pandavas including Kunti, Draupadi as well as small temples. An annual fair is also organized in the temple on the full moon day in the month of Shravan. The whole environment of Rudranath temple is so supernatural that the beauty here cannot be described in words.
Tourists come here not only to visit the temple but also to enjoy the track. One can also see greenery, flowers, wild animals etc. around the temple. Apart from Bhoj Patra trees surrounding the temple, Brahmakamal is also seen here.
According to legend
After being victorious in the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas wanted to get rid of the sin of fratricide, so Lord Krishna told them that only Lord Shiva himself can give freedom to the Pandavas from this sin. Hearing this, the Pandavas reached Varanasi to seek blessings from Lord Shiva, but did not find Lord Shiva there because Lord Shiva was angry with them because the Pandavas had destroyed their clan, so Lord Shankar went to Kedarnath and went into meditation and assumed the form of a buffalo. Found in other animals. Pandavas also reached Kedarnath while chasing them.
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After trying a lot, when Lord Shiva was not able to meet the Pandavas, Kunti's son Bhima assumed a huge form and spread his legs between two mountains. All the other animals like cow, bull, buffalo left but the buffalo in the form of Lord Shiva was not ready to go from under the feet of Bhima.
The Pandavas understood that Lord Shiva had taken the form of a buffalo, then Bhima grabbed the back part of the buffalo by forcefully pouncing on the buffalo, and the rest of the part disappeared into the ground and appeared in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, from which today we have the famous *Pashupatinath Temple* Known by the name of Lord Shiva.
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Lord Shiva was pleased to see the devotion and determination of the Pandavas and then appeared to the Pandavas and absolved them of their sins. Since that time, Lord Shiva is worshiped in Kedarnath ji in the form of body of buffalo's back, in addition to this, Lord Shiva's arms are worshiped in Tungnath, Mukh Rudranath, Nabhi Madmaheshwar and Jata Kalpeshwar, hence these five places are known as *Panchkedar* It is called
Rudranath Trek
Although there are many treks in Uttarakhand where there is an influx of tourists throughout the year. But the Rudranath trek is also such a famous trek that people eagerly wait for the doors of the Rudranath temple to open every year. The famous trek to Rudranath Temple can be started from either Sagar village, Helang or Urgam village. On the Rudranath trek, not only will you get a chance to get acquainted with the different colors of nature, but you will also feel the ultimate joy by including its live pictures inside.
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Bugyal, snowy mountains, beautiful valleys, beautiful birds and rare animals will be seen while going towards the temple on the Rudranath trek. While doing Rudranath trek, you will also get to see very rare Bhuj Patra trees and Brahmakamal. Brahmakamal is also a rare medicine found in the high altitude areas of the middle Himalayas.
Near Rudranath Temple you have Saraswati Kund which looks very beautiful in rainy season, you will find birds taking bath here. There is a lot to explore on Rudranath trek which you can cover in your Rudranath trip.
How to reach Rudranath Temple
by bus
Rudranath is situated on the Gopeshwar-Kedarnath road. Sagar village is at a distance of 219 km from Rishikesh. The trek from Sagar village to Rudranath Temple ends at a distance of 20 km.
by airplane
The nearest airport is Dehradun Jolly Grant, at a distance of about 258 km from Gopeshwar. Apart from this, bus and taxi services are also available from Dehradun airport to Gopeshwar.
by train
Rishikesh, Haridwar and Dehradun all have railway stations. The nearest railway station to Gopeshwar is Rishikesh, from where buses and taxis can also be reached.
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