Madmaheshwar Temple Ukhimath Uttarakhand

Madmaheshwar Temple is a famous ancient temple located in Ukhimath. This sacred temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is at an altitude of 3498 meters above sea level. This temple is the fourth temple in Panch Kedar shrine. Madmaheshwar Temple is also known as named of "Madhyamaheshwar". This temple is believed to be built by Pandavas and it is also believed that Bhima had built this temple to worship Lord Shiva. In the temple premises, "middle" or "navel" is considered as the divine form of Lord Shiva. The architecture of this temple is made from the North Indian style. In the present temple, a navel-shaped Shiva-Lingam, made of black stone, is situated in this holy place. On the right side of the main temple, there is a small temple, inside which is a statue of Goddess Saraswati made of marble. The silver idols of this temple are transferred to Ukhimath in the winter. According to the legend, after the war of Mahabharata, Pandavas wanted liberation from their sins, so Lord Krishna advised Pandavas to get the blessings of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was angry with Pandavas as the Pandavas had destroyed their kindred. That is why Lord Shiva comes to hide in Guptakashi. When Pandav reached Guptakashi then Lord Shiva reached Kedarnath, where Lord Shiva took the form of the bull. Pandavas discovered Lord Shiva and received blessings from them. It is believed that when Lord Shiv got the self-absorbed in the form of a bull, the upper part of their torso appeared in Kathmandu, where now is the famous temple of Pashupatinath. Shiva's arms are in Tungnath, in mouth Rudranath, in navel Madhyameshwar, in the form of the shape-pind of the backside of Lord Shiva bull is worshipped in Shri Kedarnath and hair appeared in Kalpeshwar. Therefore, in these five places, Shri Madmaheshwar is called Panchkedar.