Shiva is the lord of lords and is the third member of Hindu
Trinity. Temples of Shiva are situated all over the world and one of such
temples is Tungnath which is one of the five and highest Panch Kedar temples of
Lord Shiva. Located at an altitude of
3680 m above the ground, this temple is said to be the highest temple of Lord Shiva
in the world.
As per the legend, the myth of Tungnath is associated with
the Panch Kedar temples of Shiva which were built by Pandavas, the heroes of the
Mahabharata epic. According to Hindu mythology, Vyas Rishi, the scribe of both
the Vedas and Puranas, advised the Pandavas that they were culpable of killing their cousins (Kauravas) in the Kurukshetra war (Mahabharata) and their iniquity can only be forgiven
by Lord Shiva. Accordingly, the Pandavas went in search of Shiva but he was
avoiding them because he was persuaded with the guilty of Pandavas. In order to
evade from Pandavas, Shiva took the form of bull and went into the ground,
which is now known as Guptakashi. Later, the parts of bull were found on five
different locations which are now known as Panch Kedars where Pandavas built
temples of Lord Shiva. It is being said that thighs of
the bull were seen at Tungnath where Arjuna, the third brother of Pandavas,
built a temple and worshiped here.
Tungnath temple was found by guru Shankaracharya and is said
to be 1000 years old. The structure of this temple is built in North Indian
style and is very small in size. The holy visit of temple demands a steep trek
of 4 KM from Chopta. It is also being said that Ravana performed penance at this place in
order to please Lord Shiva.
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