Muktinath is a village and temple located at an altitude of 3,710 meters at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass (part of the Himalayas), Mustang district, Nepal.

Muktinath is a sacred place both for Hindus and Buddhists. The Hindus call the place Mukti Kshetra, which literally means the “place of salvation”. It is also one of the 51 Sakthi peetams. Buddhists call it Chumig Gyatsa, which in Tibetan means ‘Hundred Waters’. For Tibetan Buddhists Muktinath-Chumig Gyatsa is a very important place of Dakinis, goddesses known as Sky Dancers and one of the 24 Tantric places. They understand the murti to be a manifestation of Avalokitesvara.

The Temple

The shrine of Muktinath is considered one of the eight most sacred shrines for Hindu Vaishnavas known as Svayam Vyakta Ksetras, the other seven being Srirangam, Srimushnam, Tirupati, Naimisharanya, Totadri, Pushkar and Badrinath. The temple is very small. Muktinath is one of the most ancient Hindu temples of God Vishnu. The murti is of gold and is tall enough to compare with a man. The prakaram has 108 bull faces through which water is poured. It is of freezing temperature. There is an old Buddhist monk present in the temple. The worship is conducted by Buddhist nuns.

Legend

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition states that for this reason Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, had meditated at Muktinath on his way to Tibet.

The waterway downstream from Muktinath along Kali Gandaki is the source of all Silas or Shaligrams that are required to establish a temple of Vishnu anywhere in the world. It is considered to be one of the holiest places of pilgrimage of Hindus, Buddhists, and Vaishnavas. It has 108 water springs and this number carries great significance in Eastern philosophy. In Hindu astrology, there are 12 zodiac or Rashi and 9 planets or Graha, giving a total of 108 combination. Also there are 27 Lunar mansions or Nakshatras which are divided in 4 quarters or Padas each giving a combination of 108 Padas in total.