Gupta kashi

Legend : After Mahabharatha war, Pandavas were advised to seek the forgiveness by Lord Shiva. As they had committed fratricide, brahmahatya (killing of a brahmin) and many many other cides. That is what is war for you - it makes you kill your family. Say no to war - say it to Israel and to Russia. 

So as they Pandavas had killed their cousins, their teacher and their great grandfather and they come in search of Shiva for seeking pardon to Kashi. Lord Shiva is furious by their sins and is in no mood to pardon them. So he goes to GuptaKashi disguised as a bull - Nandi and hides among other cattle.  

Pandavas follow him there. Bhima grows in stature and size and forces all the cattle to walk between his legs. Of course, Lord Shiva wouldn't do that. Now Bhima catches Nandirupi Shiva by his hind legs and tail. And the Lord disappears from there.

 He now reappears in 6 different places - hump at Kedarnath, face at Rudranath, arms at Tunganath, navel and stomach at Madhyamaheshwar and the locks at Kalpeshwar. 

Vishwanath Temple in Guptakashi

The temple at GuptaKashi is similar in architecture to that of Kashi Vishwanath temple. And is typical of temples in Uttarakhand. 

There is a metal(brass?) Nandi facing Shiva in the entrance. There is also an image of Bhairava at the top of the entrance door. There are two dwarapalakas at the entrance. 

There is a small pond in front of the temple, where two streams are bathing a Shiva Linga. One stream representing Yamuna emanates from Gomukh and the other stream representing Bhagirathi( Ganga) emanates from the head of an elephant. 

To the left of the main temple, there is a temple of Ardhanareeshwar.

Gupta Kashi is a town in Uttarakhand on the way to Kedarnath temple. It is a a distance of 39 km. from RudraPrayag. 

According to Puranas - there are 6 Kashis in India. And people who can not visit the main Kashi can visit any of these 6 and gain punya. These 6 Kashis are  Uttarkashi and Guptakashi in Uttarakhand in Northern Himalayas, Dakshinkashi in Southern India, the Guptakashi in Eastern India is at Bhubaneswar, the Kashi at Nashik (also Paithan) in Western India and a Kashi in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh in Western Himalayas.