When you are travelling just focus on the exploring the spots, rest all things like food and refreshment will automatically fall into place. This was the DAY 4 of our road trip and along with 2 kids, we were literally living up to this principle, as we approached the 4th spot of the day. Around 3.5 km. from the revered Vishwanath temple in Guptkashi on the Rudraprayag-Gaurikund highway is the sacred Narayan Koti group of temples. Once this place was decorated with 360 temples but now only 29 temples are standing to offer insights into the rich cultural heritage of the place.
The spot is hidden from the visitors’ eyes, and one has to trek around 500 m. from inside the residential colonies and farms to explore this marvel. Carefully we navigated through the tiny lanes between the houses and fields making sure not to disturb the local people. And all of a sudden, Narayan Koti temple premises with number of temples appeared in front of us.
On the left-hand side there are 9 temples dedicated to 9 celestial bodies. This is the only temple site in the World where temples dedicated to all 9 celestial bodies Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Sun, Moon and two lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu are present. Find out the celestial bodies in one frame - In front of the temples is a small kund or stepwell type pond known as Virbhadra kund or Brahmkund. Continuous flowing twin streams of water add the divine angle to the premises and makes spot truly picturesque.
On right hand side are temples dedicated to God Vishnu. The name, “Narayan Koti” means "Abode of Lord Vishnu" and here people worship God Vishnu in various forms. Statue of God Vishnu and Goddess Parvati being carried by Garuda is worth spending time and worshipping. The present temples were built somewhere before or around 9th century AD. Locales believe that these temples existed much before 9th century and are associated with Pandavas. After the battle of Mahabharat, Pandavas prayed to God Shiv and were searching for God Shiv to absolve from the sin of killing Kauravas. Though Kauravas were evil, but they were the cousins of Pandavas. It is believed that God Krishna appeared here to bless Pandavas when God Shiv did not obliged Pandavas. God Shiv hid himself in Guptkashi temple, that is why the place got its name as GuptKashi, "Gupt" means secret or hidden in Hindi.
Few steps from the premises there is another premises with 5 temples: 2 temples dedicated to God Veerbhadra and Satya Narayan and 3 smaller temples.
And also check out the statues in the temples:
Architecture and the peaceful ambience are the striking features of these temples. Perhaps not so known in tourist circles is better at times. One can easily spend an hour studying these temples.
While coming to the place, do not miss the direction board to Narayan Koti Temples. Keep exploring folks…
