UKHIMATH - A DESTINATION IMBUED IN MYTHOLOGY

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UKHIMATH - A DESTINATION IMBUED IN MYTHOLOGY

The outer facade of the famed Omkareshwar temple complex in Ukhimath

         After having visited Chopta as the first destination from my so called base camp i.e. Syalsaur, we were ready for our next trip to Deoriatal.  However, being a Tuesday, as per my practice, I had to visit some Hanuman temple, but this time around I chose to visit Ukhimath because of its importance as a pilgrimage destination that finds mention in the annals of ancient scriptures.  Ukhimath is a small little hamlet situated in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand State in India. It is situated at a distance of 41 km from Rudraprayag and is perched at an elevation of 1317 metres above mean seal level and is juxtaposed to another ancient township of Guptkashi, on the Kedarnath route, saddled on the opposite ridge across the valley.  As we started for temple town in the early morning, the weather was clear and very pleasant and we traversed a distance of about 19 Kms. along the same route that we had taken the previous day and reached the temple precincts of the famed Omkareshwar temple. 

As we get ready for the journey - a perfect clear day lights up Kedarnath peaks - view from Syalsaur

This temple popularly known as Omkareshwar Pith is one of the oldest in the country and houses the deities of Kedarnath and Madhmaheswar during the winter months (November to April). During this time the temple of Kedarnath and Madhmaheshwar remains closed. The deities are brought here from Kedarnath after Diwali and from Madhmaheswar in December and worshipped here for six months. These deities are taken back in a procession to their original temples in mid-May and in 2018 the opening of Kedarnath temple is scheduled for 29^th of April, 2018. Ukhimath can be used as nodal destination for visiting different Shiva temples of the Panch Kedar fame that are located nearby, i.e. Madhmaheshwar (Second Kedar), Tungnath ji (Third Kedar) and also Deoria Ta l(natural fresh water alpine lake) that we were scheduled to visit later in the day. 

View of the inner courtyard of Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath

Typical pahari style painted frames in Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath

            Ukhimath temple dates to the time of Mandhaata, ancestor of Rama.  It is believed that the wedding of Usha (Daughter of Vanasur) and Anirudh (Grandson of Lord Krishna) was solemnized here. This place was named as Ushamath after the name of Usha and is now known as Ukhimath.  Ukhimath is also written as Okhimath and the temple is known as Omkareshwar.  There are quite a few mythological anecdotes associated with this destination and the name of the temple as Omkareshwar is related with story of Mandhaata.  According to one of the legends, the emperor Mandhaata, during his last years of his reign gave up everything, including his empire and came to Ukimath and did penance for 12 years by standing on one leg. At the end Lord Shiva appeared in the form of ‘omnipresent sound of Omkar', and blessed him. From that day onwards this place came to be known as Omkareshwar.  Ukhimath has many other ancient temples dedicated to several Gods and Goddesses such as Usha, Shiva, Aniruddha, Parvati and Mandhata.  The anecdote associated with Mandhaata is quite intriguing, it is written in the ancient scriptures that Yuvanashva, Mandhaata's father, had one hundred wives but no children. So his guru advised him to perform ‘Putrakameshti yoga’ to beget a child. The sacred water that was generated from this yaga was supposed to be given to his wives, the next morning.  But destiny played a different hand or rather a prank with him and that night Yuvanashva, who was feeling thirsty at night, so he got up and drank the sacred water without realizing that it was the holy water and not the normal water that was kept alongwith.   Thereafter, Yuvanshava started having intense pain in his chest and within a few days Yuvanashva's chest got torn open and therefrom emerged a child, was born as Mandhaata.  Normally, whenever a child's birth takes place from the mother's womb, she feeds the infant with her breast milk to satisfy his hunger and then the child becomes calm and quiet.  However, in this peculiar case ast the child that was born from Yuvanashva's chest, it started crying.  Yuvanashva could not feed the infant, so it started sucking its own fingers.  Lord Shiva had blessed that child with nectar (Amrit) in his fingers. Thus sucking his fingers and satisfying his hunger and thirst, the child grew up and in course of time became an Emperor. This emperor, during his last years gave up everything and did penance for 12 years by standing on one leg.  At the end Lord Shiva appeared in the form of ' the omnipresent sound of Omkar', and blessed him. From that day onwards this place, where the present temple stands came to be known as Omkareshwar.

The main temple base of Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath

The Chatri shading Nandi bull in front of Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath

The statute of Mandhata inside Omkareshwar temple complex in Ukhimath

             There is another interesting ancient anecdote associated with Ukhimath, Okhimath or so called Ushamath of ancient times.  Ushadevi, was the daughter of the devil king Banasura, who used to reside at Ukhimath.  Ushadevi had a close friend whose name was Chitralekha. Once, in her dreams, Ushadevi saw a very handsome prince and in her dreams she instantly fell in love with him and married him. Not only this, she even experienced a physical relationship with him in her dream.  The next day she described her dream to her close friend Chitralekha and told her to search for this prince as Usha had decided to marry him in real life too. Hence, Chitralekha started making portraits of all the princes on this earth. After observing all the portraits, Usha was able to identify the prince who had appeared her dream.  Usha asked Chitralekha to cast a magic spell to locate his whereabouts and bring him to Ukhimath. The name of the prince was Anirudha, the grandson of Lord Krishna, and he was staying in Dwarika.  Ushadevi with the help of her friend Chitralekha brought him here to Ukhimath, where Anirudha and Usha started living together. When Usha's father Banasur came to know about it he got angry and put prince Anirudha in prison.

The temple spire of Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath

Close up of the temple top of Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath

          Lord Krishna came to know about the imprisonment of his grandson Anirudha and attacked Banasur. A fierce battle took place. There was no sign of vicotry on either side and it became a stalemate, because Krishna himself was God and Banasur had the blessing of Lord Shiva. Thus, there was no sign of this fierce battle ending soon.  At this juncture Lord Kedareshwar appeared there and placated the anger of either side by consoling them.  With the blessings of Lord Shiva, the marriage ceremony of Usha and Anirudha took place in Ukhimath.  Even today you can see the place where they got married. In the beginning this place was known as USHA MATH later it changed into UKHA MATH and now it is popularly known as UKHI MATH.

Worn out sculptures of temple pillars that pre-date history

The panoramic view of the old temple complex behind the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath 

The bill board displaying historical facts about Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath

             The temple precincts and the holy shrine therein is built in the North Indian Nagara style of architecture. The temple houses, a navel-shaped Shivlinga, made of black stone and is located in the sanctum sanctorum. Furthermore, there are shrines of both Shiva's consort, Parvati, and Ardhanarishwara, an image of half Shiva and half Parvati. To the right of this temple is a small shrine of Maa Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of art and learning. It is wholly made of marble.  Ukhimath is dotted with several artistic ancient temples dedicated to Usha, Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Aniruddha and Mandhata. Ukhimath is mainly inhabited by the Rawals, who are the head priests (pundits) of Kedarnath.  Snow-capped peaks of the splendid Himalayan range are distinctly visible from Ukhimath. From Ukhimath on a clear day one can see the beautiful view of Kedarnath peak, Chaukhamba & other green beautiful valleys that sprawl alongside the lower reaches along the enchanting Mandakini River.  Having performed puja at this ancient temple town and especially when both the deities of Kedarnath & Madhamaheshwar were being housed there, made our souls feel blessed and rejuvenated.

Here is the link to the video for the destination -

Enticing Chopta

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Enticing Chopta

Panoramic view of Chopta - the so called mini Switzerland 

         After having rested for the night at Syalsaur, I got up early in the morning and was rewarded with a scintillating view of the Kedarnath peaks lit up in the morning sun.  I wandered around a bit, trudging up to the main stream of Mandakini River and saw some fishermen, who had placed nets across the stream at a few places, go waist down in the icy cold water to collect their catch, really some hard work indeed.   After returning back to the TRH and having had a hot cup of tea, I retired back to my room to have a bath, before embarking upon the days scheduled trip to the famed Chopta village.

Glorious view of Kedarnath peaks from Syalsaur early in the morning

Having had a heavy B’fast, as we did not expect to find many eateries on the way, we commenced our journey for Chopta at around 10.00 A.M.  The sky was a clear blue and the sun had made its grand appearance for the day, slowly warming up the environ that was still laden with the cold ground frost permeated air.  We traversed a distance of 14 Kms. along the Mandakini River upto Kund, wherefrom the road crosses over the Mandakini River and heads towards Kedarnath and the other one heads straight on uphill towards Ukhimath.  We traversed on an uphill drive for another 5 Kms. before we reached Ukhimath, which is the famous temple town housing the Kedarnath deity during the winter months and I will describe in detail in the ensuing blog.  We had to travel another 29 Kms. from Ukhimath before we could reach the destination for the day i.e. Chopta.

The signpost near Ukhimath

A deep gorge with a village home perched precariously on way to Chopta

Flock of sheep being herded along the road to Chopta

         From Ukhimath, instead of heading towards the main township, one continues along the main road and crosses small villages en-route namely Karokhi, Mastura, Dihara and Dhankund before one reaches Makku bend, wherefrom one roads heads for Makkumath.  Thereafter, the road gets steeper and more curvaceous and you traverse through some virgin Oak & Rhododendron forests and as you start nearing Chopta, a multitude of sign posts crop up showing presence of resorts etc., until you reach Dugalbitta that has a small hotel and some campsites strewn across and thereafter, one crosses Baniakund before finally reaching Chopta.  Being winter, snowfall had taken place in the region a few days earlier, hence some parts of the road was still covered in ice and there was snow along the sidewalks of the road.  The journey to Chopta appeared to be more tantalizing now.

Going past Baniakun en-route Chopta

As I have described that it was pleasantly warm when we had started our journey in the morning and there was a lot to rumbling & grumbling, when I had instructed the family members to don proper winter clothes that we were carrying.  However, no sooner we had alighted from the Car that a strong gust of icy cold winds hit us with gale force.  Some of us, who were still skeptical about donning the winter clothes, quickly dived back into the Car and piled on the jackets and caps et al.  Chopta is a small nondescript little village that is dotted with a number of eating joints, to ensure some grub for the ever hungry tourists, albeit everything is sold at much above the marked price.  Still it is a luxury to get the goods made available in these hostile environs by the local traders.

Panoramic view from Chopta village

Panoramic view of Chopta - towards Tungnath - from Chopta village

The starting point of trek towards Tungnath from Chopta

       As we had a sumptuous B’fast before commencing with the journey, we started our climb towards Tungnath immediately.  One has to pay a fee of Rs.150/- per person for entry, as this entire place comes under the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and this fee is collected by the forest department.  However, if you are a student and carrying a valid ID, there is a fifty percent discount.  Having procured the tickets, we started trudging towards our next target i.e. Tungnath temple.  Tungnath is the highest Shiva Temple in the world (3680m) and is one among the Paanch Kedar Shrines. It is believed to be more than 1000 years old. The temple is closed during the winters and the deity is shifted to Mukku village. Tungnath temple opens its doors to pilgrims in the summer around the end of April and shuts down in November in winter.  As per the mythology, Lord Shiva had taken the form of a bull in order to avoid the Pandavas, who were seeking his blessings for their sin of having killed their own kin.  However, Bhima spotted him and Lord Shiva in bull form went into the ground to escape the Pandavas, but Bhima caught hold of its tail so that it could not escape. Several parts of the bull then cropped out of the ground at five spots and accordingly the Panch Kedars were formed. Kedarnath temple is dedicated to the hump of Lord Shiva and is the most famous Paanch Kedar shrine. The other Paanch Kedar shrines are at - Tungnath, Madyamaheshwar, Rudranath, and Kalpeshwar.  At Tungnath temple, Lord Shiva’s arms are worshipped.

The trudge towards Tungnath begins in the right earnest

Fresh snow scattered all around - on way to Tungnath

Sign of life on a dead looking tree - a single flower

Due to the snow and extreme cold conditions, the snowfall that had occurred a few days earlier had failed to melt away, instead a thick coat of black ice now covered the road at many points and was quite treacherous.  We trudged along cautiously, stopping over here and there to catch our breaths, in the rarified air.  After trudging for about two hours or so, we reached a point where there was a meadow, with a small makeshift house cum tea stall, but due to snow it was closed.  We frolicked in the snow and enjoyed some quality time, trying to rejuvenate our slackening energy levels for further climb upwards.  However, I suddenly spotted ominous looking cloud tantalizing closing over the nearby peak and in no time at all the entire valley started to be enveloped by it.  As such the road was treacherous at many parts because of the black ice and even a slight drizzle would have rendered it unusable and could have resulted in really nasty fall and consequent damage to limbs.  So with a sense of despair, I decided to trudge back, better be safe than never and bid adieu to Tungnath with a small resolve of returning back in near future.  But a word of caution, Chopta is fast becoming a commercial destination and there were hordes of visitors, creating a cacophony of noises, shouting at top of their voices, this does not augur well for a designated ‘Wildlife Sanctuary’, therefore, the issuance of permits is required to be restricted and may be issued online for specific number of persons only and they should also be made to give an undertaking of good behavior, once inside the sanctuary or else in a few years it will lose its charm & charisma.  I could not spot a single exotic bird during the entire trek.

Snow covered slopes all across 

Fresh snow scattered all around - on way to Tungnath

Ominous clouds surrounding the peak en-route Tungnath

The clouds enveloping the entire valley - an ominous sign indeed

        However, for the readers I have made some research on the internet to gouge out some information about Tungnath, so that they do not have to refer to other blogs for information.  The trekking distance between Chopta to Tungnath is 4 kms and usually takes around 2 and a half hours to cover for a young person. Around ten minutes before you reach Tungnath, there is a small detour to a peak called Ravanshila. It is said to be the place where the demon king Ravana meditated to please Lord Shiva.  The path to Chandrashila starts from Tungnath temple itself. It is clearly marked and cannot be missed. Distance of Chandrashila Peak Top from Tungnath is approx. 1.5 kms and even though it’s a steep climb, the distance can be easily covered in 1 hour. There is a small temple at Chandrashila and from the top one can savor grand 360 degree panoramic views of the Kumaon & Garhwal ranges.  According to a mythological legend, Chandrashila is the place where Lord Rama performed penance after killing Ravana, so as to absolve himself of the sin having killed a Bramhin.

My watch altimeter showing the altitutde at Chopta village

Photographing myself

As the sun sets - view of Guptkashi - across the valley

By the time we reached back down at Chopta about three & half-hour’ time had elapsed since we had started our ascent and we were a famished lot.  Cold winds had gathered speed and it was bone chilling, we ordered some hot cups of tea/coffee to one’s liking and we had some Maggi tossed in with eggs and fried in butter, but the driver, who too had trudged alongwith us, preferred a ‘thali’ i.e. a complete meal.  I placed my watch on the table and set up the altimeter, which showed that we were perched at an altitude of 2820 meters, the warmth of my hands showed the temperature at 25 degrees Celsius and time 3.38 P.M.   By the time we finished our meals, it was almost 4.00 P.M and the temperature had started plummeting and as we retraced our steps back to Syalsaur, I took a few photographs of valleys and Guptkashi, the sister town of Ukhimath perched just across the valley traversed by Mandakini River.  Thus, ended the day late in the evening, as we gorged in some more ‘pakoras’ (chickpea flour based fried food) and tea on returning back to Syalsaur.

Here is the link to a short video of the destination -