History, Importance, Natural Environment and Travel Guide of Madhyamaheshwar Temple near Kedarnath, Uttarakhanda
Madhyamaheshwar Temple is one of the temple of Paanch Kedar circuit in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand and located near Goundar village at height of 3497 mtrs. The Paanch Kedar temples – group of five temples are solely dedicated to Lord Shiva and constructed by Pandavas at the end of Dwapar Yuga after the great war of Mahabharata between Pandavas and Kauravas at Kurukshetra. Water of this temple is believed to be highly sacred and can used in spiritual activities.
Panch Kedar temples holds a magnificent story. As Pandavas were in search of Lord Shiva after the Kurukshetra war to pardon their Brahmahatya, but Lord Shiva was avoiding Pandavas and Lord Shiva took the form of Bull (Nandi) and got hidden himself underground in Guptkashi. However Pandavas succeeded in finding Lord Shiva and apologizing to him for the war. Lord Shiva’s body the Nandi was represent the PANCH KEDAR. To worship those places the Pandavas made the temples on those places to venerate Lord Shiva. Each temple is identified with a part of Nandi. Tungnath is identified as the place where hands were seen (Bahu) so it’s the highest temple among them. Hump was seen at Kedarnath, Head appeared at Rudranath, his navel and stomach at Madhyamaheshwar and his jata (hair) at Kalpeshwar. The devotees and visitors usually complete this circuit after visiting Kedarnath, Tungnath and Rudranath they come to worship Lord Shiva in Madhyamaheshwar Temple. This is how the Madhyamaheshwar Temple is the fourth one in the Panch Kedar circuit.
This region has the rich Flora and Fauna as it is located in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary area. The Temple is architect in the North Indian style, the Shivling of Lord Shiva is made up of Black stone. There are two other smaller shrines, one for Parvati and the other shrine is dedicated to Ardhanareeswara, half Shiva half Parvati image. Due to extreme weather during the winter period, the symbolic idol of Lord Shiva is moved to Ukhimath for continued worship, same like the Kedarnath Temple, and temple closed for almost six months. The main trekking of Madhyamaheshwar is around 16 kms from Ransi village. Gaundhar and Kalimath are two significant spot on the way to Madhyamaheshwar Temple. Kalimath is believed to be Siddh Peeth where lot of pilgrims visit here as part of their spiritual journey.
How to reach - The Buses are available till Ukhimath. From Delhi, Haridwar, Dehradun, Rishikesh you can easily hire private or state buses. You can book a cab/taxi from Ukhimath to Ransi village. The nearest Railway Station is Haridwar Railway Station at a distance of 202kms. The Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is the closest Air connectivity from Madhyamaheshwar at a distance of 235kms.
