MUKTINATH
The name Muktinath is made up of two words; Mukti and Nath. Mukti means salvation and Nath means God. In Hinduism, Muktinath is known as Mukti Kshetra which means the place of Liberation.
Mission
Muktinath is a Vishnu temple, sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. It is located in Muktinath Valley at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass in Mustang, Nepal. It is one of the world's highest temples (altitude 3,800 m). Within Hinduism, it is one of the 108 Divya Desams, and is the only Divya Desam located outside India. It known as Mukti Kshetra, which literally means the 'liberation arena' (moksh) and is one of the Char Dham in Nepal.
Muktinath is located in NepalPashupat KshetraPashupat KshetraRuru KshetraRuru KshetraMukti KshetraMukti KshetraBaraha KshetraBaraha Kshetra Char Dham, Nepal
This temple is considered to be 106th among the available 108 Divya Desam considered sacred by the Sri Vaishnava sect. Its ancient name in Sri Vaishnava literature is Thiru Saligramam. The Gandaki river near by is considered the only source of the Saligram shila, considered to be the naturally available form of Sriman.
The central shrine of Sri Muktinath is considered by Hindu Vaishnavas to be one of the eight most-sacred shrines, known as Svayam Vyakta Ksetras. The others are Srirangam, Srimushnam, Tirupati, Naimisharanya, Thotadri, Pushkar and Badrinath. The temple is small. The murti is made of gold and has the size of a man.
The prakaram (outer courtyard) has 108 bull faces through which water is poured. The sacred water that flows in 108 pipes around the temple complex denotes the sacred Pushkarini waters (Temple Tanks) from the 108 Sri Vaishnava Divya Desams, where devotees take their sacred bath even in freezing temperatures.