Madhyamaheshwar Temple (Madmaheshwar)
Shiva (as Madhyamaheshwar, worshipped in a navel-shaped lingam) temple · Gaundar (Madhyamaheshwar), Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, India
Madhyamaheshwar, also written Madmaheshwar, is a Shiva temple high in the Garhwal Himalaya of Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, above the village of Gaundar. It is one of the five temples of the Panch Kedar, the group of Shiva shrines that tradition links to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata.
The Shri Badrinath-Shri Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), which lists the temple among the shrines under its care, describes Shiva here as worshipped in the form of a navel-shaped lingam. The temple cannot be reached by road; pilgrims walk up through forest and meadows, and worship at the high shrine is seasonal, moving to Ukhimath during the winter months.
Faith & Tradition
Religious Significance of Madhyamaheshwar Temple (Madmaheshwar)
According to the Panch Kedar legend recorded by the BKTC and by Wikipedia, Shiva avoided the Pandavas after the Kurukshetra war by taking the form of a bull and disappearing into the ground at Kedarnath. Parts of the bull are believed to have reappeared at five places: the hump at Kedarnath, the arms at Tungnath, the face at Rudranath, the hair at Kalpeshwar and the navel and middle of the body at Madhyamaheshwar. The name is understood to refer to this 'middle' (madhya) form of the Lord.
Sources number the shrine differently within the circuit. The BKTC's current website calls it the fourth temple visited in the Panch Kedar pilgrimage, after Kedarnath, Tungnath and Rudranath and before Kalpeshwar, while news reports of the annual opening, such as one in Punjab Kesari in 2025, call it the 'Second Kedar'. Both describe it as an integral part of the Panch Kedar.
During the winter, when snow closes the high shrine, the deity's processional image is taken down to the Omkareshwar Temple at Ukhimath, which Swarajya and the Rudraprayag district administration identify as the winter seat of both Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar. Swarajya also reports that the Rakeshwari temple at Ransi, which local priests regard as the shrine of the Lord's consort, holds a fair when the image is carried back up in summer.
Heritage
History of Madhyamaheshwar Temple (Madmaheshwar)
No inscription or dated record of the temple's founding appears in the sources consulted. Tradition, as recorded by Wikipedia from older guidebooks, credits the Pandavas, and in particular Bhima, with building the Panch Kedar temples. These are matters of belief rather than documented history.
In modern times the temple has been administered by the Shri Badrinath-Shri Kedarnath Temple Committee, whose website lists 'Shri Madmaheshwar Temple at Madmaheshwar' among the temples it manages. Each year the committee arranges the opening of the temple in early summer and its closing as winter approaches. Punjab Kesari's report of the 2025 opening describes the processional image halting at the Omkareshwar Temple in Ukhimath, the Rakeshwari Temple at Ransi and Gaundar before reaching the shrine, followed by Nirvana and Shringar darshan of the self-manifested lingam.
Architecture and sacred features
Wikipedia describes the temple as built in the North Indian Himalayan style, standing in a green meadow below a high ridge, with the peaks of Chaukhamba, Kedarnath and Neelkanth visible from the site; the BKTC also mentions views of these three peaks. Besides the main sanctum there are two smaller shrines, one for Parvati and one for Ardhanarishvara (the half-Shiva, half-Parvati form), according to the BKTC, and Wikipedia mentions a small shrine with a marble image of Saraswati beside the main temple.
Wikipedia also records an older shrine, Budha (Vriddh) Madhyamaheshwar, a small temple on the ridge about 2 km above the main temple, reached by a steep climb.
Plan Your Visit
Darshan and Visitor Information
The shrine is at high altitude and the trek passes through remote mountain terrain, so pilgrims should be fit, carry warm clothing and allow for sudden weather changes. The temple is open only during the summer pilgrimage season; opening and closing dates are announced by the Shri Badrinath-Shri Kedarnath Temple Committee each year, and in winter worship takes place at Ukhimath. Confirm current dates, route conditions and arrangements with the BKTC and the Rudraprayag district administration before travelling.
Timings and arrangements change with seasons and festivals. Confirm current details with Shri Badrinath-Shri Kedarnath Temple Committee (official website) before travelling. Last reviewed 1 November 2026.
Sacred Calendar
Festivals at Madhyamaheshwar Temple (Madmaheshwar)
Opening of the temple and doli procession
The processional image travels up from the winter seat at Ukhimath, halting at Ransi and Gaundar, and the temple opens for the pilgrimage season with darshan of the lingam.
Closing of the temple
The shrine closes for winter and the processional image is carried down to the Omkareshwar Temple at Ukhimath, where it is worshipped until the next season.
Maha Shivaratri
Listed by Wikipedia as a festival of the temple; as the high shrine is closed in winter, worship of Madhyamaheshwar at this time takes place at the winter seat.
Location
How to Reach Madhyamaheshwar Temple (Madmaheshwar)
The temple is reached only on foot. Wikipedia, citing published guides, gives the usual trek as about 16–18 km from the road head at Ransi, passing Gaundar and Bantoli, where two streams meet. An older BKTC page described the approach via Kalimath, a Siddh Peeth, and Gaundar, at the confluence of the Madmaheshwar Ganga and Markanga Ganga, as the last notable halt before the shrine.
The BKTC gives Rishikesh, about 227 km away, as the nearest railhead and Jolly Grant airport near Dehradun, about 244 km away, as the nearest airport. Ukhimath, the winter seat, is described by the Rudraprayag district administration as 41 km from Rudraprayag.
Location: Gaundar (Madhyamaheshwar), Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, India
Nearest airport: Jolly Grant, Dehradun (about 244 km, per the BKTC)
Nearest railway station: Rishikesh (about 227 km, per the BKTC)
More in Hindu temples in Uttarakhand · Shiva (as Madhyamaheshwar, worshipped in a navel-shaped lingam) temples · Temples in Ukhimath Tehsil · Temples in Rudraprayag District
Questions
Madhyamaheshwar Temple (Madmaheshwar): Frequently Asked Questions
Which part of Shiva is worshipped at Madhyamaheshwar?
According to the Panch Kedar legend, the navel and middle part of Shiva's bull form reappeared here, and Shiva is worshipped in a navel-shaped lingam, as the BKTC describes.
Is Madhyamaheshwar the second or the fourth Panch Kedar?
Sources differ. The BKTC website calls it the fourth temple in the Panch Kedar pilgrimage circuit, while news reports often call it the 'Second Kedar'. All agree it is one of the five Panch Kedar shrines.
Where is Madhyamaheshwar worshipped in winter?
When the high shrine is closed by snow, the processional image is taken to the Omkareshwar Temple at Ukhimath, which is the winter seat of both Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar.
How long is the trek to Madhyamaheshwar?
Wikipedia, citing published guides, gives about 16–18 km on foot from the road head at Ransi, via Gaundar and Bantoli. There is no road to the temple.
What other shrines are at Madhyamaheshwar?
The BKTC mentions shrines to Parvati and Ardhanarishvara, Wikipedia mentions a Saraswati shrine beside the main temple, and the older Budha Madhyamaheshwar shrine stands on the ridge about 2 km above.
Who manages Madhyamaheshwar Temple?
The Shri Badrinath-Shri Kedarnath Temple Committee lists the temple among the shrines under its care and announces its opening and closing each year.
Sources and attribution
- Shri Badrinath-Shri Kedarnath Temple Committee (Wayback Machine copy, February 2012) — Madmaheshwar
- Shri Badrinath-Shri Kedarnath Temple Committee — Other Temples – The Temple of Shri Madmaheshwar at Madmaheshwar
- District Rudraprayag, Government of Uttarakhand — Ukhimath
- Punjab Kesari (English) — Shri Madhmaheshwar Temple welcomes pilgrims in grand ceremony (21 May 2025)
- Swarajya — Rudraprayag: the misty abode of Shiva's five rupas (2017)
- Wikipedia — Madhyamaheshwar
Further reading: Madhyamaheshwar Temple (Madmaheshwar) on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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