Keshorai Math

Keshorai Math is a historic 17th century Hindu stone temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Narayana), situated along the sacred banks of the Alaknanda River in Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Built in 1682 AD by a wealthy merchant named Kesho Rai with royal patronage from the Kingdom of Garhwal, this grand heritage complex is one of the finest surviving examples of late medieval Garhwali stone temple architecture.

Constructed from colossal dressed grey stones and river boulders, the temple withstood the devastating Gohna Lake flood of 1894 that submerged parts of old Srinagar town. The inner sanctum features a sacred black stone deity of Lord Vishnu with intricate carvings, surrounded by ancient stone inscriptions in Devanagari script detailing the math's construction history. Pilgrims visiting Srinagar along the Badrinath National Highway descend to the river ghats here to perform holy ablutions and participate in evening aartis.

Truth is, feeling the cool river spray while running your fingers across 340 year old carved stone reliefs that survived mammoth Himalayan floods is truly humbling. It remains a precious historical and spiritual landmark in Uttarakhand's Srinagar valley.