Kartik Swami Temple is a temple dedicated to the eldest son of Lord Shiva, Kartikeya. It is located near the Kanakchauri Village in Rudraprayag District. The temple is located at the top of small hill which can be reached via short trek from Kanakchauri Village. The top of the temple offers some stunning views of the snow-capped Himalayan ranges.
Dedicated to the elder son of Lord Shiva, Kartikeya, it is believed that he offered his body and gave his bones to Lord Shiva as symbol of his devotion to him. He is mostly revered in South India as Kartik Murugan Swami .
You need to climb about 80 stairs from the road to reach the temple main sanctum where the idol of Lord Kartikeya is placed. You will notice hundreds of bells inside the temple premise which can be heard from the bottom of hill too. There is a small aarti daily during evening and also number of festivals and feasts are organised here all over the year.
According to the Hindu Mythology, Once Lord Shiva asked both his son Ganesha and Kartikeya to take seven rounds of the universe. And the one who will do it first will be the first to be worshipped before any god.
They both took the challenge happily. Lord Ganesha took the seven rounds of Lord Shiva and Parvati while Lord Kartikeya circled the universe for seven times. Seeing this Lord Shiva gave Lord Ganesha the honour of being worshipped first. Being not chosen, Lord Kartikeya burnt his body and gave his bones to Lord Shiva as his devotion to him. It is said this was the place where Kartikeya sacrificed his body.
Kartik Swami Temple can be easily reached via Rudraprayag. Rudraprayag can easily reached via Haridwar and Rishikesh. From Rudraprayag you can either hire a jeep or taxi or either you can travel via shared jeeps. It takes about 2 hours to reach Kanakchauri from Rudraprayag.