Karna Temple
Situated in the Karnaprayag city of Uttarakhand, Karna Temple is perched over a very huge boulder at the confluence of Alaknanda and Pindar River.
Situated in the Karnaprayag city of Uttarakhand, Karna Temple is perched over a very huge boulder at the confluence of Alaknanda and Pindar River.
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Send Enquiry for Tour PackagesThe shrine is dedicated to a mythical character Karna of Mahabharata epic that is widely regarded as the most righteous and charitable of the Pandavas siblings. In order to please Sun God, he meditated here at this place hence this place is known as Karnaprayag. It is one of the five revered river confluences (‘prayag’) in Uttarakhand.
According to the popular beliefs, it is at this place Karna meditated to please the Sun God (his father) and was granted the impregnable armor by the deity himself.
Another legend states that, Karnaprayag is the place where Lord Krishna buried Karna after his tragic death. When Arjuna fatally wounded Karna, Lord Krishna realized that the noble Karna is not dead as he was being protected by the Dharma-Devi due to the innumerable charitable deeds he performed all his life. It was impossible to kill Karna when the goddess was protecting him herself. Aware that victory is impossible with Dharma (righteousness) on Karna’s side; Lord Krishna disguised himself as Brahmin and asked Karna his good merits.
The wounded Karna on his death bed obliged and gave all his merit to the poor Brahmin. With no good merits with him anymore, the goddess of righteousness (Dharma Devi) disappeared. The Lord Krishna nodded Arjuna to take the kill shot and before Karna’s eyes were closed forever, the Lord rewarded Karna with the view of his Vishwaroopam. In his dying breadth, Karna asked the Lord to bury him at a virgin land which he obliged and cremated Karna at the holy land of Karnaprayag.
Karna Temple is located in In Karnaprayag ( Near to the confluence of Pinder and Alaknanda River).
Karn Temple is situated at the confluence of Alaknanda and Pindar rivers in the Karnaprayag town of Uttarakhand which lies on national highway NH-58 which connects Delhi to Badrinath.
One can find buses plying from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag daily. The total distance from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag is 172 km via Rudraprayag and Srinagar route. The nearest railway station is located at Karnaprayag while Jolly Grant in Dehradun is the nearest airport (213 kms).
