Gopinath Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located at Gopeshwar in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It is located in Gopeshwar village, a part of Gopeshwar city.
The temple has a wonderful dome and 24 doors. Shivling is seated in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, and at some distance from the temple premises, there is a pool called Vaitarni. Bathing in the holy water of this kund has special significance.
Devotees consider themselves to be satisfied with the mere sight of this holy place. It is believed that Lord Shiva removes all the troubles of his devotees. Gopinath temple gopeshwar is present in the category of the oldest temples after the Kedarnath temple.
The different types of archeology and rocks found on the temple symbolize how mythical this temple is. The ruins of broken idols around the temple complex give evidence of the existence of many temples in ancient times.
There is a trident in the courtyard of the temple, which is about 5 meters in height. This trident is made of eight different types of metals, which date back to the 12th century. It boasts of inscriptions written to King Ankamal of Nepal from the 13th century. According to the legend, Trishul was installed at one place in the temple. This Trishul belonged to Shiva. However, there is a story behind how it got established here. In the Puranas, the Gopinath temple was the shrine of Lord Shiva. It is said that Mahakal meditated at this place for many years.
According to mythology, after Goddess left her body, Lord Shiva was absorbed in penance. At the same time, a demon named ‘Tadkasur’ created a ruckus in the three worlds. No one was able to beat him.
Then Brahmaji told the deities that only the son of Lord Shiva could kill Tadkasur. Since then, all the deities started worshiping Lord Shiva. Nevertheless, even then, Shivaji did not wake up from meditation. After that, Indradev entrusted this task to Kamadeva to end Shiva’s penance. So that Shiva gets married to Goddess Parvati, and his son kills the demon Tadkasur.
Then Kamadeva attacked Shiva with his arrows, and his penance was broken. When Shiva threw his trident to kill Kamadeva in anger, that trident was buried in the earth at the same place. It is also believed that no human can move the trident even a little bit with his physical strength. However, if a true Shiva devotee touches the trident even with his finger, it starts to vibrate.
All Shiva devotees also come to visit the Gopinath temple to see this unique miracle of Shiva. At this place, country people and foreigners from far and wide reach to see the trident of Mahadev. On the occasion of Mahashivratri, devotees celebrate this festival with great pomp and decorate the entire temple, like Mount Kailash. All the people of the surrounding district unite and enjoy Mahashivratri. It is also believed that whenever any trouble has come in Gopeshwar district, it has been faced by Mahadev’s Trishul.
People also believe that Goddess Parvati comes to worship Shiva’s trident on the day of Mahashivratri and decorates the trident with flowers and sandalwood paste. According to the temple priest, performing Abhishek on the day of Mahashivaratri has a different significance.
On the occasion of Mahashivratri, 101 abhishekas are performed by the devotees throughout the day. This Gopinath temple of Gopeshwar is full of unseen and unheard stories.