Madhyamaheshwar Temple Opening & Closing Dates in 2024

madhyamaheshwar-temple-himalayas-1 Temple Himalayas

The Second Kedar Madhyamaheshwar Temple Will Reopen on 20 May 2024 for Panch Kedar Yatra 2024.

Tucked away at a height of 3,497 meters (11,473.1 ft), Madhmaheshwar temple is one of the five most acclaimed temples of Shiva in the Himalayas. This sacred sanctum opens up its gate for devotees for a limited time each year. The opening date of Madmaheshwar Temple in 2024 will be the 20 of May and will observe special ceremonies and procession. So, if you are planning for this spiritual odyssey, mark the date for a blissful experience.

Ritual Ceremony and Procedures for the Opening Date of Second Kedar, Madhyamaheshwar Temple

Every year, Madmaheshwar Temple undergoes a beautiful transition on its opening day. The temple is decked with quintals of flowers with hundreds of devotees gathering around in festive attire. While the gates to Madmaheshwar Mandir will be opened on 20th May, the opening ceremony commences two days earlier, at Omkareshwar Temple in Ukhimath, the winter seat of Madmaheshwar.

According to the traditional rituals, a symbolic idol of Shri Madmaheshwar, seated on a palanquin called “Utsav Doli”, is moved from Ukhimath to the Madmaheshwar shrine in a three-day procession called "Chal Vigrah". The symbolic movement will start from Ukhimath on Friday, May 18th, and will head to Ransi village covering around 25 kilometers. The procession will rest at Rakeshwar temple at Ransi for the night. The next morning, on 19th May, the doli will be taken from Ransi to Gaundar Village, which is a seven-kilometer trek.

In the early morning of 20th May, the palanquin will reach the Shri Madmaheshwar temple complex. After the procession's arrival, pujaris (priests) will perform special rituals and chant sacred hymns before opening the gates of Madmaheshwar temple. At last, the temple's kapaat will be opened for devotees so that they can complete the Madmaheshwar Yatra in the period of next six months.

About Madhya Maheshwar Temple

Madmaheshwar temple, also known as Madhya Maheshwar is not just a place of worship, but a journey to solace. The temple enshrines Lord Shiva in the form of Lingam depicting the naval (nabhi) of Shiv. Here 'Madhya' means 'middle' and 'Maheshwar' refers to Lord Shiva. The temple is located at a remote location at about 3,500 meters (11,480 feet) in the Himalayas and requires 16 kilometers of trek. Moreover, this is an extremely beautiful trek with landscapes worth admiring at the top.

The root story of the Madmaheshwar Temple is straight out from the great Hindu epic, Mahabharat. In it, the Pandav brothers were looking for lord Shiv in the mountains to seek forgiveness for killing their kin in Mahabharat war. However, lord Shiva chose to test them and split their body into parts that landed at five different locations across Himalayas where Pandav built Shiv temples later. Those five shrines are now called Panch Kedar Temples and Madmaheshwar, the "second abode" (dwitiya kedar) of Shiva, is one among them.

Madmaheshwar requires long trekking of moderate difficulty that immensely pays off. The extremely beautiful route passes through quaint villages, coniferous forests, and green meadows. You will be accompanied by the constant murmur of the Madmaheshwar Ganga river stream along the way.

Besides the religious significance, the surroundings at the Madhyamaheshwar spellbound the visitors. You can just sit and spend hours in the landscape of widespread green meadows encircled by sky-topping snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas.

Madhyamaheshwar Temple Opening and Closing

The second shrine of Panch Kedar Yatra, Madhyamaheshwar temple, will open its gate for darshan after a long six months in May. Every year temple gates are closed in winter due to extreme temperature drops and inaccessibility due to snow. The temple committee decides the opening and closing dates of Madhmaheshwar Temple.

The opening and closing dates of Madmaheshwar Temple for the year 2024 are as follows-