The Rudranath temple within the Panch Kedar pilgrimage circuit of Uttarakhand closed for devotees on Saturday in sight of the approaching winter during which it remains snowbound.
The priests bathed the presiding deity, Shiva, with panchamrit at brahma muhurta (auspicious hour) within the morning and offered special prayers, the temple’s chief priest Ved Prakash said.
A symbolic image of the deity was then carried during a palanquin decorated with flowers to the Gopinath Temple in Gopeshwar where he are going to be worshipped during the winter months, he said.
Located at a height of over 10,500 ft, Rudranath is one among the five major pilgrimage centres within the Panch Kedar circuit. the opposite four are Kedarnath, Tungnath, Madhyamaheshwar and Kalpeshwar.
