Guptkashi | Uttarakhand

Guptkashi

Guptkashi is one of the sacred pilgrimage site and the tourist place, situated at an High Altitude of  1319 m (4327 ft approx) above the sea level on the bank of the Mandakini River in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. The Guptkashi is most famous for the ancient temple like Vishwanath Temple and it has a gateway that went toward Kedarnath which is about 50 km (approx). 

Guptkashi

History of Guptkashi

Guptkashi’s history is closely tied to Hindu mythology. The name “Gupt-Kashi” means “Hidden Kashi”, referring to the belief that Lord Shiva hid he*re from the Pandavas after the Kurukshetra war. According to legend, the Pandavas came seeking Shiva’s forgiveness for the war, but He avoided them and stayed concealed in this region before later appearing in Kedarnath. 

Because of this association, Guptkashi became an ancient pilgrimage center. Over time, temples like Vishwanath and Ardhanarishwar were established, mirroring the sacred traditions of Varanasi. Historically, the area was also part of the old Katyuri and later Garhwal kingdoms, serving as an important stop on Himalayan trade and pilgrimage routes.

Nearby Places to Visit in Guptkashi

Vishwanath Temple

The Vishwanath Temple is one of the most important and ancient Shiva Temple in Guptkashi, it is located at an high altitude of 1319m (4327 ft) above the Sea Level on the way toward Kedarnath Dham. 

After the war of Kurukshetra, the Pandavas sought forgiveness from Lord Shiva for the sin of Killing their relatives. According to legend, shiva appeared shiva appeared to the Pandavas here but soon disappeared and later reappeared at kedarnath in the form of a hump. this make guptkashi a very important stop before kedarnath.

Kedarnath

Kedarnath Temple is one of the most sacred and the pilgrimage sites for Hindus, temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, It is located on the bank of Mandakini River in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, at an high altitude of 3583 meters (11755 feet approx) above the sea level. 

Kedarnath Temple is one of the Char Dham Pilgrimage sites of Uttarakhand along with Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri and also a twelve Jyotirlings of Lord Shiva.

It is believed that the temple was built by the Pandavas, because at the time of Kurukahetra war, the Pandavas has killed their own relative, teachers and soldiers, then their heart fills with guilt for killing them, so the came to free this sins (Paap) through Lord Shiva, but lord shiva was unhappy with them.

So they took the form of a bull (Nandi) to test their sincerity and they hid in the Himalays and Pandavas searched everywhere, then Bheem Spotted a strange bull at Guptkashi with lots of cattle and tried to stop it, but the Bull (Lord Shiva) tried to dive into the ground to disappear. Bheem grapped him and lord shiva revealed himself and then they forgive them. so the place where hump appeared known as Kedarnath.   

Gaurikund

Gaurikund is the place where she lived and performed intense tapasya to marry the Lord Shiva, It is about 30 km from Guptkashi, at an altitude of 1982 meter (65100 feet approx). In Gaurikund, there is temple dedicate to Goddess Parvati and name is Gauri Temple. 

In Gaurikund there is a natural hot water spring where the pilgrimage take bath before going to Kedarnath Temple.  

Triyuginarayan Temple

Triyuginarayan Temple is a wedding place of Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati, it is about 25 km from the Guptkashi and situated at an altitude of 1980 m (6496 ft) above the sea level.  

The name “Triyuginarayan” comes from: 

• Tri = three 
• Yuga = eras 
• Narayan = Lord Vishnu