Gopinath Temple in Chamoli
The Gopinath temple is located in India’s divine state of Uttarakhand. The Chamoli district’s Gopinath Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is visited by many devotees and travelers throughout the year. People come from all over the country and the world to worship Lord Shiva, the destroyer god.
The religious significance of the Gopinath Temple is second only to that of the Panch Kedar temples of this region (Kedarnath, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar, and Kalpeshwar). Legend has it that when Lord Shiva was interrupted while meditating, he became enraged and hurled his trident at the perpetrator, Kamadev. The Trident became stuck here, and thus the establishment.
Another version holds that Lord Shiva turned Kamadev into ash, but when the latter’s wife, Rati, performed penance here, the Lord restored Kamadev’s life. More interesting is the historical significance. The temple’s carbon date is from the 9th century CE, and the trident has an inscription from the 12th century CE.
The Gopinath Temple was constructed by the wealthy Katyuri Dynasty of these parts. The temple is very solidly built in the same style and construction as the Kedarnath Temple. The Gopinath Shiva lingam at the Gopinath Temple is a self-emerging Shiva lingam. The temple’s trident, which refuses to budge, is intriguing.
Only a true devotee, according to legend, can move it. The Gopinath Temple is located in Gopeshwar, between Badrinath and Kedarnath, and is easily accessible from Hardwar, Rishikesh, and Dehradun.
