What Makes The Famous Muktinath Temple So Popular Among Hindus?

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The famous
Muktinath Temple in Nepal is a holy site that is equally appreciated by both Hindus and Buddhists. Every year thousands of pilgrims from around the world visit the holy shrine with the sole purpose of achieving salvation or liberation from the unending loop of birth and death.
About the Temple
Muktinath Temple is located at an altitude of 3710 meters in the Mustang district, at the base of the highest pass in the world, the Thorang La Mountain Pass. Muktinath Tour shares the same route as that of the popular Annapurna Circuit Trek. Muktinath Temple is a pagoda-style small structure and the site of the temple is believed to be as old as 2000 years.
Muktinath splits to ‘Mukti’ meaning ‘salvation’ and ‘Nath’ meaning ‘Lord’ thus, the temple is a revered place to attain salvation for anyone visiting it. The temple is nestled among tranquil and peaceful surroundings where one can sit for hours and sink in the beauty of the Annapurna Range on one side and the Tibetan Plateau on the other side.
Even ...
... though Buddhists revere the temple as much as Hindus, there is a special significance of the Muktinath Tour and the holy shrine for the Hindu Vaishnavas.
We discover a few facts here that signify the importance of the famous, ancient Muktinath temple to the Hindus.
Muktinath Temple and its Religious significance to the Hindus
1. Muktinath is one of the most ancient Hindu temples that are dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

2. As per the Hindu Vaishnavas, the Muktinath shrine is among the eight most revered shrines of Hindus namely Tirupati, Pushkar, Badrinath, Srirangam, Srimushnam, Thotadri, and Naimisharanya. They are together known as Svayam Vyakta Ksetras.

3. Hindus have a common belief that one must visit the famous Muktinath temple after completing the pilgrimage of Chardham Yatra or 4 significant religious sites in India. It is believed to get one liberation or salvation and set them free of the vicious circle of life and death.

4. There are a total of 108 Divya Desams that are considered holy by the Hindu Vaishnavas. The Muktinath Temple is the 105th Divya Desam among them.

5. The ancient temple is also regarded as one among the 51 Shakti Peethams.

6. Muktinath Temple is also home to the Saligrama Shila that is considered to be a naturally existing form of Lord Narayana, a Hindu Godhead.

7. The holy site of Muktinath Temple is popularly called ‘Mukti Kshetra’ by Hindus. It literally translates to ‘place of salvation’.

8. Inside the temple, there is a small Buddhist monastery called the Mebar Lha Gomba also popularly called the monastery of ‘miraculous fire’. The monastery is famous for the natural gas fire that burns continuously inside it. As per the popular Hindu belief, it is the Goddess of Fire and the Hindus worship the miraculous fire as Jwala Mai.

9. Several Shaligrams or Ammonite is found on the route of Muktinath. The Hindus consider these as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and worship them as well.

10. As per the Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu turned into Shaligram due to Brinda’s curse.
The muktinath tour
is open to visitors all the year round but several thousand of pilgrims visit the holy shrine during the festivals of Ram Navmi, Bijay Dashami and Rishitarpani, some of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus.
Apart from the religious significance of the temple, there are several other major attractions inside the temple that make it a popular destination for not just the pilgrims visiting the temple but also the tourists visiting the country.

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