Madhyamaheshwar (मध्यमहेश्वर) or Madmaheshwar is a Hindu
temple dedicated to god Shiva, located in the Mansuna village
of Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand,
India . Situated at an
elevation of 3,497 m (11,473.1 ft), it is the fourth temple to be visited in
the Panch
Kedar pilgrimage circuit, comprising five Shiva temples in the Garhwal
region. The other temples in the circuit include: Kedarnath, Tungnath and Rudranath to
be visited before Madmaheshwar and Kalpeshwar
to be visited after Madmaheshwar. The middle (madhya) or belly part or navel (nabhi) of the bull, considered a divine form of Shiva, is worshipped
at this temple, believed to be built by the Pandavas, the
heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata
Mythology
The most famous folk legend about Panch
Kedar relates to the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The
Pandavas defeated and killed their cousins — the Kauravas
in the epic Kurukshetra war. They wished to atone for the
sins of committing fratricide (gotra hatya) and Brāhmanahatya
(killing of Brahmins — the priest class) during the war. Thus, they handed over
the reigns of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of the god Shiva
and to seek his blessings. First, they went to the holy city of Varanasi
(Kashi), believed to Shiva's favourite city and famous for its Shiva temple.
But, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and
dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was, therefore, insensitive to Pandavas'
prayers. Therefore, he assumed the form of a bull (Nandi)
and hid in the Garhwal region.
Not finding Shiva in Varanasi , the Pandavas
went to Garhwal Himalayas .
Bhima,
the second of the five Pandava brothers, then standing astride two mountains
started to look for Shiva. He saw a bull grazing near Guptakashi (“hidden
Kashi” — the name derived from the hiding act of Shiva). Bhima immediately
recognized the bull to be Shiva. Bhima caught hold of the bull by its tail and
hind legs. But the bull-formed Shiva disappeared into the ground to later
reappear in parts, with the hump raising in Kedarnath, the arms appearing in
Tunganath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar, the face
showing up at Rudranath and the hair and the head appearing in Kalpeshwar. The
Pandavas pleased with this reappearance in five different forms, built temples
at the five places for venerating and worshipping Shiva. The Pandavas were thus
freed from their sins. It is also believed that the fore portions of Shiva
appeared at Pashupatinath, Kathmandu — the capital of Nepal
A variant of the tale credits Bhima of not only catching the bull, but also
stopping it from disappearing. Consequently, the bull was torn asunder into
five parts and appeared at five locations in the Kedar Khand of Garhwal region of the Himalayas .
After building the Panch Kedar temples, the Pandavas mediated at Kedarnath for
salvation, performed yagna
(fire sacrifice) and then through the heavenly path called the Mahapanth (also
called Swargarohini), attained heaven or salvation.
After completing the pilgrimage of Lord Shiva's darshan at the Panch Kedar
temples, it is an unwritten religious rite to visit Lord Vishnu at the Badrinath
Temple, as a final affirmatory proof by the devotee that he has
sought blessings of Lord Shiva
Structure
The temple in the north Indian style of architecture is situated in a lush
meadow, just below a high ridge. The older, so-called 'Vriddh-Madmaheshwar',
temple is a tiny blackened shrine on the ridge, which looks straight up at the
commanding Chaukhamba peaks. In the current temple, a navel-shaped Shiva-lingam, made of
black stone, is enshrined in the sanctum. There are two other smaller shrines,
one for Shiva’s consort Parvati and the other dedicated to the Ardhanarishwara,
a half-Shiva half-Parvati image. Bhima, the second Pandava brother is believed to have built
this temple and worshipped Shiva here. To the right of the main temple there is
a small temple where the image of Saraswati,
the Hindu goddess of learning, made of marble is installed in the sanctum.
Worship
Madhyamaheshwar idol is worhsipped at Ukhimath during winter months
The water from the temple precincts is considered so highly sacred that
even a few drops are stated to be adequate for ablution. The worship at this
temple starts from a specified time period from the beginning of the summer
months after the winter and lasts till October/November from start of the
winter season when the temple precincts are not accessible due to snow
conditions. During the winter period, the symbolic idol of the god is shifted
with religious formalities to Ukhimath for continued worship. Priests at this
temple, as in many other temples in the state, are from South India
and at this particular temple they are called Jangamas of the Lingayat cast
who hail from Mysore
in Karnataka
state. This induction of priests from outside the state enhances the cultural
communications from one part of the country to the other, with language
becoming no barrier. It is one of an important sacred pilgrimage centres of
Shastrik (textual) importance categorized as Panchasthali (five places)
doctrine. This doctrine has been determined on the basis of sectarian
association, fairs and festivals, offerings to the deity, sacred declarations
made by devotees and specific blessings sought from the god through prayers at different
temples. 2 km. away is a small temple called Bura Madhyamaheswar. One has to
trek 2 kilometers up the steep ways through large moors and valleys and then
would reach in a small lake, where a full Panoramic range of Himalayas
consisiting of the peaks, Chaukhamba, Kedarnath, Neelkanth, Trishul, Kamet,
Panchulli, etc
The temple is in a picturesque green valley surrounded by snow peaks of Chaukhamba
(literal meaning is four pillars or peaks), Neel Kanth and Kedarnath in
high Himalayan hill ranges. The Kedar hills, called the Kedar Massif, gives a
spectacular view of the mountain formation with numerous glaciers which include
the source of the Mandakini
River
Access
The total trek length to cover all the five temples of Panch Kedar is about
170 km (including road travel up to
Gaurikund), involving 16 days of strenuous and rewarding effort. The trek
starts from Gauri
Kund, one of the picturesque spots, provides spectacular views of the
Himalayan range of hills in the entire Garhwal region, comparable to the Alps.
The trekking is undertaken during two seasons; three months during summer
and two months after the monsoon season, as during the rest of the period,
except Rudranath, the other four Panch Kedar temples are inaccessible due to
snow cover
The base of the trek is Uniana which is 18 kilometres away from Ukhimath.
From there the trekking way starts. After 3 kilometres is Ransi village a small
chatti, with a place to stay. Then after long 6 km. comes Gaundhar where there
are 3 lodges to stay. After 1 km lies Bantoli, the point of confluence of
Madhyamaheswar Ganga and Martyenda Ganga. Then comes Khatara, Nanu, and then comes
Madhyamaheswar. The proper trekking distance is 19 kilometres from Uniana.
Gaundhar and Kalimath are two important places on the route to
Madhyamaheshwar. Kalimath in particular, is of
importance for the large number of pilgrims who visit the place for spiritual
comfort and hence it is called the Sidh
Peeth (Spiritual center). Kalimath is famous for the temples to
goddesses Mahakali
and Mahalakshmi, and gods Shiva and one
of his ferocious forms - Bhairava. The navratri time is of special significance at this
place when much large devotees visit the place. Gaundhar, the last settlement
on the trek route and close to the temple, is at the confluence of
Madhyamaheshwar Ganga and Markanga Ganga rivers and offers enchanting views.
