KARNPRAYAG (Chamoli Garhwal Uttarakhand)
Karnprayag, the confluence of the Alaknanda with the Pindari River, is the third of the sacred prayags on the Alaknanda. It is named after Karn, one of the main characters from the Mahabharat, known for his bravery, generosity and sense of honour. The town is a charming place, quiet in the winter and a beehive of activity during the yatra season when visitors and pilgrims use this as a halt to rest or stay over. The ancient and well-known Uma Devi Temple is located here and excursions from the town will take the visitor to the village of Nauti from where one of Uttarakhand’s most ancient and unique celebrations dedicated to patron goddess Nanda Devi – the Nand Raj Jat Yatra – is organised every 12 years.
HISTORY
Karnprayag, the third sacred Panch Prayag, at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Pindari rivers, was originally an important teerth in ancient times. Sadhus, munis and rishis as well as foot pilgrims crossed the town on their way to the Badrinath shrine. It was also a thriving market, and people from other parts of the country settled here because of the opportunities it offered in terms of commerce. The Birehi floods of 1803 put a temporary end to this activity as the town was all but wiped out. The ancient Uma Devi Temple was also damaged at that time. Eventually order was restored, the town built again and yatra restarted as did commercial activity.
The year 1803 also saw the Gorkhas attacked Garhwal. Karnprayag, in common with the rest of Garhwal, was ruled first by the Katyuri dynasty which had its seat near Joshimath. Later, the Katyuris themselves moved to Kumaon, where they eventually lost out to the Chand dynasty.
The removal of the Katyuris led to the emergence of several chieftains, the most powerful of which were the Panwars. This dynasty was founded by Kanak Pal at Chandpur Garhi (14 kilometres from Karnprayag), whose 37th descendent Ajay Pal eventually built his capital at Srinagar. The dynasty started by Kanak Pal carried the cognomen ‘Pal' which was changed to Shah during 17th century, and continued to rule Garhwal till 1803.
The Gorkhas came into contact with the British power in 1814 as their frontiers in Garhwal overlapped with those of the British. The border troubles prompted the British to invade Garhwal. In April 1815, the Gorkhas were ousted from Garhwal; it was annexed as a British district and was split up into eastern and western Garhwal. Eastern Garhwal was retained by the British Government and named British Garhwal. Karnprayag was a part of British Garhwal till India’s independence in 1947.
During British time, there was a proposal to bring the railhead to Karnprayag but India attained independence soon after and the proposal was forgotten. It was only in the 1960s when the roads came to this part of Uttarakhand that Karnprayag began to develop, even though it was a Tehsil at this time. Before that, even to get necessities such as salt and gur (unrefined sugar) the people of Karnprayag had to travel on foot to Kotdwar.
In 1960, when the new district of Chamoli was formed, Karnprayag became a part of it within Uttar Pradesh, and within Uttarakhand when the new state was born in 2000.