हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Rudraprayag

The confluence of the Mandakini, coming down from Kedarnath, with the Alaknanda. Here Devarshi Narada did tapas and Bhagwan Shiva taught him music; here the roads to Kedarnath and Badrinath part.

Built: Sacred confluence; Rudranath and Chamunda templesWhere: Uttarakhand (Rudraprayag district)Deity: Bhagwan Shiva as Rudranath30.29° N, 78.98° E
  1. 1926
  2. June 2013
Photo: Vvnataraj · CC BY-SA 3.0

01Narada learns music

The Kedara Khanda tells that Devarshi Narada sat in tapas on a rock at this sangam to master music, and Mahadev appeared to him as Rudra and taught him the ragas and raginis; the rock is still called Narada Shila. The temple of Rudranath stands just above the meeting of the two rivers, and a short way off is the shrine of Chamunda Devi. The Mandakini, grey with the snow-melt of Kedarnath, and the green Alaknanda run side by side here for a while before they mix.

02Where the paths divide

From Rudraprayag one road climbs the Mandakini valley through Guptkashi to Gaurikund and Kedarnath, and the other follows the Alaknanda to Badrinath. The flood of June 2013 that destroyed much of Kedarnath valley came down the Mandakini through this town. In the 1920s Jim Corbett hunted the leopard that had killed over a hundred people on this pilgrim road, and his book on it made the town’s name known abroad.

The life of this place

  1. 1926Jim Corbett shoots the man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag.
  2. June 2013The Kedarnath flood surges down the Mandakini through Rudraprayag.
Visiting

Rudraprayag is about 140 km from Rishikesh. Take darshan at Rudranath above the sangam before turning towards Kedarnath or Badrinath.

Nearby

Dhari Devi Temple, KaliyasaurRebuilt
Independent Bharat

Dhari Devi Temple, Kaliyasaur

The guardian Devi of Garhwal, whose upper half is worshipped on the Alaknanda between Srinagar and Rudraprayag and whose lower half at Kalimath. Her murti was moved on 16 June 2013 for a hydro project, the evening before the Kedarnath flood.

KarnaprayagStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Karnaprayag

The confluence of the Pindar with the Alaknanda, where Karna did tapas to Surya Dev. The temple of Uma Devi stands above the sangam.

Adi Badri Temples, ChamoliStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Adi Badri Temples, Chamoli

A cluster of stone temples on the road from Karnaprayag to Ranikhet, counted first among the Panch Badri. Fourteen of the sixteen shrines survive and are protected by the ASI.

Omkareshwar Temple, UkhimathStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Omkareshwar Temple, Ukhimath

When snow closes Kedarnath each Kartik, Baba Kedar is carried down in his palki to Ukhimath and worshipped here through the winter. The town is also where the Puranas place the marriage of Usha and Aniruddha.