UTTARKASHI: The ancient Kalp Kedar temple here has been buried under debris brought by a flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river.
The temple had remained underground for many years, possibly due to a previous disaster, with only its tip visible above the surface.
Built in the Kature style, the architecture of the Shiva temple closely resembles that of Kedarnath Dham.
Its discovery was made during an excavation in 1945.
After digging several feet below the surface, an ancient Shiva temple was uncovered, with a structure similar to the Kedarnath temple.
The temple stood below ground level, and devotees had to descend steps to offer prayers.
Locals say that water from the Kheer Ganga would often drift onto the ‘shivling’ in the sanctum sanctorum, and a path had been created for it.
There are stone carvings outside the temple. The ‘shivling’ in the sanctum sanctorum is shaped like the back of Nandi, much like in the Kedarnath temple.