Gauri Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage site and base camp for trek to Kedarnath Temple, in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

.Page 224, Hill Resorts of U.P. Himalaya: A Geographical Study, By Nutan Tyagi, Published 1991 by Indus Publishing, It is situated at an altitude of 6502 feet above mean sea level in the Garhwal

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

s. Anekadhangavadeswarar is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''Tevaram'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as '' Paadal Petra Sthalam'', the 275 temples reverred in the canon.

Legend

Gauri Kund is associated with Shiva's wife,

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi ...

, who is also known as Gauri. In Hindu folklore, Gauri committed to penance involving many ascetic and yogic practices to win over

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

's affections. Local tradition claims that Gauri Kund is the spot where Gauri lived while carrying out these practices and it was here that Shiva finally admitted His love for Her. They were married at Triyugi Narayan, which is located nearby. There are hot springs in Gauri Kund and they are converted to bathing places. This place is also associated with the legend of how

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

acquired his elephant head. While bathing in the ''kund'', Goddess Parvati fashioned Ganesha from the soap suds on her body, breathed life into him and placed him at the entrance as her guard. Lord

happened to arrive at the spot and he was stopped by Ganesha. Indignant at this affront, Shiva cut off Ganesha's head and Parvati was inconsolable. She insisted that the boy be brought back to life and Shiva took the head of a wandering elephant and placed it on Ganesha's body. Parvati had her son back and Ganesha acquired the persona by which he is known all over the Hindu world since then.

History

There are several inscriptions in the temple from historical times. One of the inscriptions states that the son of a

Devadasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

vowed to kill himself if the temple could not be completed.

Saints and literary mention

Tirugnana Sambandar, a 7th-century Tamil ''Saivite'' poet, venerated the deity in one verses in '' Tevaram'', compiled as the '' First Tirumurai''. He is believed to have rendered the verse while he visited the Kalahast temple. As the temple is revered in ''Tevaram'', it is classified as '' Paadal Petra Sthalam'', one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. There is a temple in Kanchipuram, the Anekadhangavadeswarar temple carrying the same name.

References

{{HinduMythology Tourism in Uttarakhand Hot springs of India Landforms of Uttarakhand Padal Petra Stalam