Rudranath Temple, Chamoli – The Temple

Rudranath Temple, Chamoli – The Temple

Rudranath Temple is a cave temple. The face (mukha) of god Shiva is worshipped as Neelkanth Mahadeva here. The deity is a Swaymbhu (self-manifested) Shivalinga shaped like a human face formed by the projection of a huge rock. Devotees worship old historic swords protruding from the rocks, believed to be of Pandavas at Nandi Kund (2,439 m or 8,002 ft), on the trekking route to Rudranath (if coming via Madmaheshwar).

There are numerous sacred water tanks (Kund) near the temple. These include Surya Kund, Chandra Kund, Tara Kund, Mana Kund etc. Nanda Devi, Trishul and Nanda Ghunti are the famous mountain peaks, forms the backdrop to the temple. The holy river Vaitarani or Baitarani or Rudraganga flows near the temple, which has a grey stone idol of Rudranath.

Saraswathi Kund is located at a very beautiful location near Rudranath Temple. It is a high-altitude small pond at a height of approx. 3000 m from sea level. The temple committee has a guesthouse where devotees can spend the night. The temple opens every year in the month of April / May and closes in the mid of November. During the winters the idol of the temple is moved to Gopeshwar and later returned on the opening of the temple.