Karnaprayag, Uttarakhand

Karnaprayag is a city and municipal board in Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Karnaprayag is one of the Panch Prayag of Alaknanda River, situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda, and Pindar River.

Karnaprayag is located at an average elevation of 1,451 meters. The confluence of the Pindari River, which arises from the icy Pindari glacier and the Alaknanda, occurs at Karnaprayag.

Karnaprayag is one of five sites where the confluence of rivers occurs. The five prayags are Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag, and Devprayag. In Allahabad where the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati join, is known as Prayag and is one of the holy places of Hindu pilgrimage.

Karnaprayag, Chamoli,Uttarakhand

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It is believed that this is the place where Karna of the Mahabharata worshipped the Sun God. There is an ancient temple, devoted to Uma in Karnaprayag.

In some versions, Karnaprayag is the place where Lord Krishna did the cremation of Karna. When Arjuna used the Anjalika astra on weaponless Karna, who was still trying to lift the sunken chariot wheel, Lord Krishna found that Karna was still alive even though seriously wounded. He found that Dharma-devata, the goddess responsible for protecting Dharma (righteousness) is guarding Karna against death and resisting every arrow send by Arjuna. Krishna and Arjuna found it was impossible to kill Karna as the goddess was protecting Karna personally. Lord Krishna explained to Arjuna that the Dharma-devata herself was protecting Karna from death because of the massive good merit Karna earned by giving charity during his lifetime and it was impossible to even for Lord Shiva to kill Karna. Krishna said wherever Dharma is present there are victory and, this time, Dharma was with the side of Karna. So Krishna went down from his chariot and appeared as a Brahmin and asked for Karna’s punya or merit to him as charity. Karna gave his entire merits as charity to the Brahmin in the form of his blood and once Karna gifted his life’s merit to him, Krishna rewarded Karna with the view of Krishna’s Vishwaroopa. Krishna told that only this way it was possible to kill Karna and when Karna gave away his life’s merit to Krishna, Dharma-devata disappeared. Karna asked Krishna to cremate him in a virgin land where nobody else is present. Then Krishna went back to his chariot and asked Arjuna to take the kill shot on Karna. Later Krishna himself did the cremation of Karna at the place that is now known as Karnaprayag.

By Road

Karnaprayag lies on national highway NH58 that connects Delhi with Badrinath and Mana Pass in Uttarakhand near Indo-Tibet border. Therefore, all the buses and vehicles that carry pilgrims from New Delhi to Badrinath via Haridwar and Rishikesh in pilgrim season of summer months pass through Karnaprayag on the way to Joshimath and further north. Rishikesh is the major starting point for road journey to Karnaprayag and regular buses operate from Rishikesh bus station to Karnaprayag. The road distance from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag is 172 km via Rudraprayag and Srinagar (Uttarakhand).

By Rail

The nearest railway station is at Rishikesh. However, Rishikesh is a small railway station not connected by fast trains. Haridwar railway junction, 24 km farther from Rishikesh, has train connections to most of the major cities in India and is, therefore, the railhead for Karnaprayag.

By Air

The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant Airport near Dehradun that is 213 km away.