Rudraprayag: Chants of ‘Baba Tungnath’ rang through the flower-decked temple as devotees gathered for the season’s final darshan on November 6. After the priests completed the closing rituals and shut the doors of the Himalayan shrine for winter, the ceremonial palanquin carrying the deity’s processional idol set out for Makkumath, where devotees will be able to offer prayers over the next six months.

Set at an altitude of 3,680 metres (12,073 feet) at the foot of Chandrashila, Tungnath is revered as the third of the five Panch Kedar shrines. The temple received 1,97,424 devotees this season. Many gathered in the temple courtyard for the closing ceremony, which took place at the auspicious hour amid Vedic chants. Temple priest Abhishek Maithani, a Vedic scholar, performed the customary puja and led the rituals before the doors were shut.

The doli’s journey to Makkumath

The ceremonial doli is scheduled to make its first overnight halt at Chopta on November 6 and reach Bhanakund on November 7. On November 8, the processional idol will be installed at the deity’s winter seat in Makkumath. Daily worship will then continue there through the winter, and devotees can have darshan for the next six months.

A date that has come around before

In the Panch Kedar tradition, Tungnath is where devotees worship the arms of Lord Shiva. The shrine draws pilgrims and visitors from India and abroad every year. This year’s closing date brought a familiar coincidence as the temple also shut for winter on November 6 in 2019 and 2025.