Muktinath Temple

    Muktinath is a sacred place both for Hindus and Buddhists located in Muktinath Valley at an altitude of 3,710 meters at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass (part of the Himalayas), Mustang district, Nepal. The site is close to the village of Ranipauwa, which sometimes mistakenly is called Muktinath as well.

    The Hindus call the sacred place Mukti Kshetra, which literally means the "place of liberation or moksha". Mainly the temple is with a predominant Sri Vaishnava origin and worshipped by Buddhists. This temple is considered to be the 105th among the available 108 Divya Desam. The ancient name of this place, before Buddhist origin is known as Thiru Saligramam. This house the Saligrama sila considered to be the naturally available form of Sriman Narayan the Hindu God HEAD. It is also one of the 51 Sakthi peetams. The Buddhists call it Chumig Gyatsa, which in Tibetan means 'Hundred Waters'. For Tibetan Buddhists, Muktinath-Chumig Gyatsa is a very important place of Dakinis, goddesses known as Sky Dancers and one of the 24 Tantric places. They understand the murti to be a manifestation of Avalokitesvara.

The central temple

    The central shrine of Sri Muktinath, predominant among all 108 Hindu SriVaishnava Divyadesam is considered one of the eight most sacred shrines for Hindu Vaishnavas known as Svayam Vyakta Ksetras, the other seven being Srirangam, Srimushnam, Tirupati, Naimisharanya, Totadri, Pushkar and Badrinath. The temple is very small. Muktinath is one of the most ancient Hindu temples of God Vishnu. The murti is of gold and is tall enough to compare with a man. The prakaram (outer courtyard) has 108 bull faces through which water is poured. It is of freezing temperature. The sacred water that flows in 108 pipes around the temple complex denote all sacred Pushkarini waters (Temple Tanks) from all 108 Sri Vaishnava Divya Desams including Srirangam, Tirumala, Vaikunta, where the devotees take their sacred bath even in the freezing temperatures. There is an old Buddhist monk present in the temple. The worship is conducted by Buddhist Nuns.

Legend

    The Tibetan Buddhist tradition states that for this reason Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, had meditated at Muktinath on his way to Tibet. This temple is praised by many saints of Hindu tradition. The scripts narrating the importance of this temple are available in Vishnu Purana with the Gantaki Mahathmya.

    The waterway downstream from Muktinath along Kali Gandaki is the source of all Silas or Shaligrams that are required to establish a temple of Vishnu anywhere in the world. It is considered to be one of the holiest places of pilgrimage of Hindus, Buddhists, and Vaishnavas. It has 108 water springs and this number carries great significance in Eastern philosophy. In Hindu astrology, there is 12 zodiac or Rashi and 9 planets or Graha, giving a total of 108 combinations. Also there are 27 lunar mansions or Nakshatras which are divided in 4 quarters or Padas each giving a combination of 108 Padas in total.

Sri Murthy Mahatmyam

    This is the only place on earth where you can find all five elements from which everything is made, according to the Buddhist and Hindu tradition: fire, water, sky, earth and air at the same place together in their own and distinct form. This place is near Jwala Devi temple.

    The entire river bed has Shaligram stones which are used to worship Lord Vishnu. According to Sri Vaishnava philosophy it is considered to be one of the Divya desam (108 in total) or holy places of worship of Lord Vishnu praised by Alwars in a compilation called the Nalayira Prabandha. It is said that one has to be gifted to get the darshan of Lord Sri Murthi and Goddess Sri Devi Thayaar.

Darshan, sevas and festivals

    The most suitable time to visit Muktinath is from March to June, as the weather conditions would not be safe enough to travel in other months. The journey passes through many archeological sites and temples.