Temples of Uttarkashi - Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Shakti Temple and others


Part VI (Exploring Uttarkashi)

After descending a distance of 99 km from Gangotri and travelling for most of the day, we concluded Day 2 by paying a visit to the temples of the religious town of Uttarkashi.

Situated on the banks of River Bhagirathi is Uttarkashi, an important pilgrim centre which is often equated with Kashi (Varanasi). It is situated at an elevation of 1150 meters. During Magh Mela, people visit Uttarkashi to take a holy dip in Bhagirathi along with their village deity.

The entrance to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple of 
Uttarkashi
The entrance to the famous Kashi Vishwanath 
and the Shakti Temples of Uttarkashi

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

 The Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi

Entrance to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Uttarkashi
The entrance to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple

The shivling at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi
 The Shivling at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Uttarkashi

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Kashi Vishwanath Temple is an ancient and the most famous temple in Uttarkashi. It is said to have initially been built by Sage Parshuram and which was later renovated by Maharani Khaneti, wife of Sudarshan Shah in 1857. The Shivling is 60 cms in height and 90 cms in circumference. This is the most important shrine of Uttarkashi and should not be missed if you are traveling to this part of the country.

 An ancient slab of black stone with some inscriptions in 
Uttarkashi
 An ancient slab of black stone with some inscriptions 
outside the Vishwanath Temple

Guess the time at which these pictures were taken? It was just around 5.00 pm! Still it looks like its very late into the night, isnt it? The sun sets early in these areas, especially in the winters, and it gets dark pretty quick. By 9 pm, everything is wrapped up and people are back in their homes!

Shakti Temple

 The Trident seen at the Shakti Temple in Uttarkashi
 The Shakti Temple in Uttarkashi

 The Trident at the base in the Shakti Temple - Uttarkashi
 The Trident seen at the base in the Shakti Temple

The Devi's Trishul at the Shakti Temple at Uttarkashi
The Trident seen at the Shakti Temple in Uttarkashi

Just opposite to the Vishwanath temple is the Shakti Temple. The main attraction here is a huge and heavy trishul (trident) - 6 meters in height and 90 cms at the bottom which was thrown at the devils by Goddess Durga. The trishul, as the priest told us, is made of iron in the upper part and copper in the lower part and is revered as a form of Shakti. One amazing feature of the trishul is that it cannot be moved with your entire body force but it vibrates the moment you apply pressure with one of your fingers! That was indeed some kind of magic!

Other Temples in Uttarkashi

We also visited two other local temples - the Kandar Devta Temple and the Temple dedicated to Parshuram – an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Parshuram Temple in Uttarkashi
Parshuram Temple in Uttarkashi
 Kandar Devta Temple in Uttarkashi
Kandar Devta Temple in Uttarkashi

Other Temples we could not visit are Kuteti Devi Temple, Ekadash Rudra Temple and the Gyaneshwar Temple which are also said to be worth a visit.

Other than the temples, there is a Nehru Mountaineering Institute or NIM which is a famous mountaineering training Institute in India. Trekkers and mountaineers can hire the different mountaineering gadgets and accessories from NIM for their adventure.

Related Posts –
Magh Mela in Allahabad
Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirling, Varanasi

To view the travel route map of Day 2 of our Char Dham Yatra - CLICK HERE

Previous posts from this trip -

Post a Comment

60 Comments

  1. What a great place - so many wonderful temples to enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful temples one certainly won't see in most travel books! The 4th picture seems to hint of buddhistic influence.

    ReplyDelete
  3. like you, i love spiritual destinations. i envy you for this pilgrimage, arti.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful post. The pics look great as well for the dim light you had to shoot them at.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wonderful Post..! The pictures look great as well considering the dim light you had to shoot them at

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post! Felt like I was really visiting those temples...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Marvelous tour of such lovely temples, Arti! And your photos are terrific as always! Hope your week is going well!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a very informative post. The pictures look great. It is interesting how these temples are ornate in their decoration but not ornate in their architecture!

    The more I read and see about India, the more I am intrigued by it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. As always very interesting. I'm intrigued to know more about the inscription on the black stone outside the Vishwanath Temple.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such beautiful temples and sights Arti, the Shakti one seems especially pretty to me! It's amazing, how much there is to see in India. Hope you have a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Seems like you have covered most of the famous temples of North India. Beautiful pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  12. amazing clicks ... had darshan of kasi viswanatham and shakti trident by your lovely post...it is interesting to know the trident vibrates with the push of the finger...I believe some kind of energy has been channeling into this trisulam and protecting mankind ...


    Super Yummy Recipes

    ReplyDelete
  13. I enjoy seeing the color and design during your travels. So different than my life. The trident sounds so interesting especially since it will vibrate with a touch, but yet is immovable.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi... I have an award waiting for you at my blog.. plz come pick it up thank u xo.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The story of that trident is so unusual and interesting!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great info arti :) !! And also the pics :)
    Hope ur having a good travel :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. wonderful post...
    surprisingly no crowds?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dear Arti,

    Thanks a lot for your wishes and concern, made me really happy... How are you doing? I have missed a lot of your posts, will try and go through them.

    Have a lovely day!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, just great . thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  20. Such beautiful and colorful temples in your county - lovely to be able to see them through your photos and words.

    ReplyDelete
  21. @ Shridharan
    Thanks, Yes it had really gone dark though the time was only about 5 pm!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. @ Petty Witter
    Even I was intriguied by it Tracy, hence clicked it to share it with you all!! But I dont know what it says as it is in some other script maybe Sanskrit or Devangari...

    ReplyDelete
  23. @ Satya
    Its really amazing these things, the trident oscillates freely if touched with the finger but it wont budge if you apply your whole force with your hand!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. @ Emmy
    Thanks so much Emmy of thinking about me, I am honoured... But mine is an award free blog, hope you will not feel bad... So I cant accept it, but thanks anyways:)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Arti, this is wonderful! I have been catching up with your posts, so havent left comments everywhere... but wanted to tell you that following your journey has been wonderful! Its been a very long time since i did this circuit, and then it was a hurried trip, so thanks to you i can now plan a detailed trip whenever i decide to go again!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Another leg of the yatra! This is a very comprehensive tour guide of the Chardham yatra with lovely pics to go with it :)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thanks a ton for turning off the word verification :))

    ReplyDelete
  28. Loved the journey and the pictures. Evening pic taken at Shiva temple is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  29. It does seem like a magic place!! And a beautiful one

    ReplyDelete
  30. All these temples are a mighty testimony of an ancient culture and beauty.
    My hope is that the people of India rooted in so many cultures and spread all over the world for centuries, must be allowed to live in peace with oneanother.
    Without love and peace religion is but a beautiful, but empty shell.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Arti --Like the commenter above, I wondered too how you manage to get so many beautiful pictures without crowds of people.

    These are beautiful. How long ago were they taken? (I'm wondering when it was when it got dark so early -- we have had longer days since March or early April.)

    ReplyDelete
  32. What lovely pictures. Makes the post even better!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Wow...what an innovative blog and blog post. The-Mango-Man (aam aadmi) is really touched by the earnestness of your effort to put up such a comprehensive and engaging post. And it is the little stories that you gathered, and not extracted out of internet, is what gives this blog a unique identity. Also, the snaps are of such good resolution, light and angle that it brings to life the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". My good wishes are with you...keep posting

    ReplyDelete
  34. Very beautiful and colorful temples! The trident is very interesting!!!6meters....!

    ReplyDelete
  35. 6 meters in height is high.
    The architecture reflects human hearts.
    Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  36. the temples seems to be small and remote, but have a lot of history behind them.... also, they look very neat and clean... wonderful pics...
    6 m high trident.... amazing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. @Magiceye @Sallie (FullTime-Life) The absence of crowds is due to the off season. The main temple of Gangotri (Uttarkashi is a major town enroute to this revered shrine high up in the mountains)was just about to close and hence the pilgrim traffic was very very thin!

    @Sallie (FullTime-Life) I was there in November. So then the days are short! Plus, it being a mountainous area, the sun tends to hide behind the mountain and the cloud cover contributing to the reason for the early darkness.

    ReplyDelete
  38. how wonderful to see all these pics esp since I have not visited these places and would love to go someday :) thanks for sharing these truly wonderful pictures and darshans with us

    ReplyDelete
  39. nice pics
    Airtel got the free advt on your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  40. How long was this trip? Looks like you covered several places in one go! Must have been a truly uplifting experience.Your blog always reminds me how many things are there to be seen still!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hi Arti! I am reading this post in the morning, so it such a divine coincidence, in the morning I got Bhole Baba's Darshan! The Trishul is unbelievable. and I pray I may visit there to experience that magic. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Thanks a lot for accepting my suggestion too, it is very easy now, without word verification. But I am worried, you will have to deal with spam comments. I am searching some spam block plugin, if I get it, I will surely tell you!

    ReplyDelete
  43. @Richa The trip was only 6 days long!

    @Mohinee Yes, thanks a lot for the suggestion :) And thanks to the automatic spam detection system of blogger, Spam comments are not troubling me much!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Great to know about these places. Never been here before.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Nice reading once again for a person who may never visit those places in real life (I mean 'Me'). Hope someday you will come over to Kollur near Byndoor and we can meet then. It is a amazing place and considering your choice, I am damn sure you will like it too

    ReplyDelete
  46. Wonderful temples...worth a visit. I have heard of Uttarkashi...even I was wondering abt the absence of crowd. Great post as usual, Arti:)

    ReplyDelete
  47. The incredible India :)


    http://womendecoded.blogspot.com
    http://www.0fiction.com
    http://www.theteenagersoul.com
    http://24x7clicks.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  48. Gr8 Post as always...a different world altogether, this divinity is :)

    Cheers!
    Indigenou

    ReplyDelete
  49. How fortunate you are to live in India, to be able to visit the sacred temples and walk the hallowed paths vibrating with holy energy from the lotus feet of God's beloved saints and sages. I pray one day I will touch my forehead to Indian soil. I love my Ohio, but my heart longs to bathe in the Holy Ganges. Jai Ram!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Excellent post, was intrigued by the Trishul in the Shakti temple. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  51. great trip... yet again...
    I used to think these places are unreachable during November/December...

    ReplyDelete
  52. Wonderful posts, with Lord's grace I am planning a trip in Sept. Your posts are indeed informative.Tq

    ReplyDelete
  53. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Delighted you stopped by... Your suggestions, feedback are really appreciated. Thanks a lot :) Hope you visit again!

If you have asked a question, please give me at least 2 days to reply back. Thank you :)