Pancha K’s And Pancha B’s

Pancha K’s & Pancha B’s

My family and friends thought that something was wrong with me when I said that Kedarnath was not included in my two-week itinerary to Uttarkhand (May-June 2022). It was sheer blasphemy on my part they said! How could anyone go to Badrinath and not visit Kedarnath?!

When I said that I was going to Kedarnath but not the Kedar-Kedar that one knows of- they were surprised.  I did visit two Kedars and three Badris this time and no one, not a soul that I know of, was aware that there are Pancha Kedars and Pancha Badris (‘pancha’ meaning five).

5K’s:

Pancha Kedars include Kedarnath, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar and Kapleshwar temples, all located in the Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarkhand.

There is an interesting legend that traces the origin of the five Kedars to the Pandavas who trekked to the Himalayas, to find Lord Shiva in order that they be released from their sins for having fought the Kurukeshtara war and killed many. Shiva, to evade them, disguised himself as a bull and was found by Bhima who grabbed the bull by its hump. Shiva went underground and appeared as a hump at Kedar. The other body parts appeared at different places, navel at Madhyamaheshwar, forelegs at Tunganath, face in Rudranath and hair in Kalpeshwar (Epics like Mahabharata do not support this saga but that is another story altogether).

Kedaranath is the main temple visited by thousands, perhaps because it is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and it also forms a part of the Char Dham circuit (the other three being Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri). The other four Shaivate temples are less known or should I say not known at all, at least in my niche?! 

Both the Kedars that I visited this time, Tunganath and Kalpeshwar, are located amidst awe inspiring surroundings, especially the former. Chopta, which forms the base of Tunganath is breathtakingly beautiful with pines, deodars, rhododendrons and other conifers marking its rich surroundings. Chopta’s evergreen forest and meadows makes travellers compare it to Switzerland. My co-traveler's ‘desi’ version was a comparison of the sprawling meadows to the ones in our Bollywood movies where Sridevi/Jayaprada come rolling down in dance sequences.  Jaisi filmomein hotahai (as in the movies). 

Chopta is at a distance of about 3.5 kms from Tunganath, and tents are the form of accommodation here, the rentals of which are as high as the Himalayan peaks during the peak season. Alternate reasonable home-stay arrangements can be found at Sari village which is around 20 kms from Chopta. Sari village is the trekking base camp to Deoria Tal – the Tal (lake) reflects a panoramic view of Chaukhambaa and other Himalayan mountain range. Locals also believe that this is the place where the Pandavas were queried by the Yaksha (the famous Yaksha Prashne ಯಕ್ಷ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ). 

Tunganath is at a higher altitude than Kedar (17,555 ft vs 12,070 ft) and is said to be the highest Shiva temple in the world. Devotes walk the rough and spiraling distance of 4 kms, from the base to the temple peak, which takes a day. Mules/horses are the other means of transport as in Kedar.  Unlike Kedar, there is only one doli that is available to be hired. Since this has been recently introduced, it makes one wonder if the four persons carrying it are still training and that’s quite scary given the winding, narrow, uphill pathway with no barricades whatsoever. Doli is called ‘pittu’ by the Garhwali’s.

Lord Ganesha at the entrance of Tunganath temple.

Bhotanath temple adjacent to Tunganath temple

If the weather is favorable, one can have a glimpse of Trishul and Chaukambha peaks from atop Tunganath which is breathtakingly beautiful.

Glimpse of Himalayan Peaks

Kalpeshwar temple looks easy to be reached from a village called Urgam. Just cross the bridge, admiring Kalpaganga waterfall and you reach your destination. But traversing a distance of about 15 kms distance from Helang to Urgam is quite a challenge, with very rough and rugged terrain marking the landscape. (Helang is a village close to – about 30 kms – from Joshi Math) With little vehicular traffic on the kutcha road, the taxi driver was apprehensive of getting any help, if something went amiss with the vehicle. He swore that he would refuse trips this way. This was temporary as he promised the Urgam home -stay owner that he would come again and also refer others to tread the less travelled road, which means this is a doable trip.

  Urgam, by itself, is beautiful, as is any village/hamlet nestled in the Himalayan Range.

View of Urgam Village

View of Kaameng peak from Urgam

Bridge that connects Urgam to Kalpeshwar, river seen is Kalpaganga

Arch of Kalpeshwar Temple

Bells (above pic) and Trishul (below pic) adorning either sides of the path towards Kalpeshwar

Boulder seen is Lord Shiva’s tresses

Sanctum sanctorum

5B’s: 

Badrinath temple- generally referred to as Vishal Badri is one of the Char Dhams and a must –visit temple especially for the Vaishnavites. Adi, Yoga-Dhyan, Vriddha and Bhavishya are the other four temples located in this area.  

Adi, Vishal and Bhavishya are the ones I visited this time. Since Vishal Badri is a much talked about destination, glimpse of the other two may be of interest. The latest talk in Vishal Badri is the Master Plan that the government is proposing, the one that would make the place pilgrim-amenities -friendly. 

Past Present and Future 

Adi Badari (Adi meaning ancient) is an ASI notified temple-complex, located at about 18 kms from Karnaprayag.  It feels and looks like any other ASI (Archeological Survey of India) complex of temples which includes Ganesh, Hanuman, Ram, Lakshmi Naryan , Annapurna and some more mandirs, all on a platform within a small space.  There is a Vishnu temple with a black stone idol and the belief is that Lord Vishnu lived here in Satya, Treta and Dwapar Yuga and later shifted to Badri Vishal. 

Adi Badari

Bhavishya Badri is located beyond Tapovan which is close to Joshimath. Bhavishya Badri – is the one that would be the focus point, post-submergence of Badri Vishal. The story is one of submergence of Badri Vishal which would occur when the hand of Lord Narasimha falls from the idol worshipped now at Joshimath, this would lead to shifting the abode of Narayana from Vishal Badri to Bhavishya Badri. 

The present tiny temple at Bhavishya Badri is nothing much to talk about except to say that there is a swayamboo (self-created) idol of Badrinath, SreeRama and a few more, all on one black stone. It is the journey towards the temple that is more fascinating than the destination. 

Amazing natural beauty with tall Devadaru (Cedrus deodara) trees stretching towards the sky and other vegetation welcomes the traveler to this tiny temple. One has to cover a distance of 19 kms from Tapovan to reach the temple via Ringit village. Tapovan is mainly known for its hot springs. 

The owners of the eateries as also the residents of this area say that it is possible to reach the temple only by road but they forget to mention that it is only the Bolero that can tread the path. Yes, there are local Bolero services that can traverse the distance for a fee of Rs 1,500 and yes it is worth going up, even if it is only to appreciate and enjoy the flora and fauna. 

Path to future- Bhavishya Badri temple -the arch seen is the temple doorway

Epilogue:

There are a few more Badris and Kedars that are yet to be covered.  Kedars – Rudranath and Madhyamaheshwar are considered as tough trek peaks. These are more visited by the seekers of adventure than the seekers of truth! All this makes me wonder, why reaching Shiva is more difficult than reaching Narayana?! The stories that I had heard from my grandmother always said that Shiva was easy to please and gave boons easily. When these were given to evil and the undeserving Naryana came into picture. Indeed, this is some food for thought!