Kedarnath
is situated set amidst in the stunning mountainscape of the
Gharwal Himalayas at the head of the Mandakini River,of Uttar
Kashi district of the northern state of Uttaranchal. Kedarnath
is amongst the holiest pilgrimages for the devout Hindu. Kedarnath
is a shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, the protector &
the destroyer, situated 92 kms from Rudraprayag, at an altitude
of 3,581 m above sea level. The shrine of Kedarnath is one
of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and also is one of the
4 sacred dhams of Uttaranchal. It is a scenic spot set against
a backdrop of the Kedarnath range of mountains. The temple
is more than 1000 years old. Pilgrims traditionally first
visit Yamunotri and Gangotri and bring with them the holy
waters from the sources of the rivers Yamuna and Ganga and
offer abhishekams to Kedareshwara. The traditional pilgrim
route is Haridwar - Rishikesh - Devaprayag - Tehri - Dharasu
- Yamunotri - Uttar Kashi - Gangotri - Triyugnarayan - Gowrikund
and Kedarnath. Alternatively, the route to Kedar from Rishikesh
is via Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Ukhimath. Near
Kedarnath is the source of the river Mandakini. Mandakini
joins Alakananda at Rudraprayag.
Situated at an elevation of 3,580 m (11,750 ft), this celebrated
Hindu pilgrimage spot in the high Himalayas is dedicated to
Shiva. An imposing sight standing in the middle of a wide
plateau surrounded by snow covered peaks. The temple faces
south, which is an unique feature, as most temples face east.
This temple is very solidly built. The Kedarnath Temple is
believed to have been built by the Pandavas and is almost
1000 years old. The present temple built in 18th century A.D.
by Adi Guru Shankaracharya lies adjacent to the site of an
ancient temple built by Pandavas. The inner walls of the assembly
hall are decorated with fixtures of various deities and scenes
from mythology. Built of extremely large heavy and evenly
cut gray Slavs of stones. It evokes wonder as to how these
heavy Slavs had been handled in the earlier days.The enternce
of the temple has a Conical lingam- the main idol, a statue
of Nandi - the celestial bull of Shiva, a 'Garbha Griha' for
worship and a mandap for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors.
A conical rock formation inside the temple is worshipped as
lord Shiva in his sadashiva form. Inside the temple there
is an irregular three-faced linga, representing the hump of
Lord Siva when he took the form of a bull. It is about 9 ft
long, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet high. Pilgrims are allowed to
touch the linga, perform worship, abhishika (bath), and massage
the linga with ghee.
According to a belief, Shankaracharya, the great philosopher,
died here in about 820. Despite the antiquity of the site,
the Kedareshvara temple here is of recent date. The sanctuary
is contained within an unadorned curved tower with shallow
projections and a timber roof at the summit. The projecting
mandapa is gabled; its facade displays bands of curved ornamentation
and decorated niches. Along with Badrinath, it is famous among
the Hindus as one of their four prime pilgrimage centers.
There are deities of goddess Parvati and Ganesh in front of
the main altar door. Outside the second door are Lord Krishna,
the five Pandavas, their wife Draupadi, and their mother,
Kunti. In the temple is a Laksmi-Narayana Deity which was
installed by Adi Sankaracarya. Outside the temple door a large
statue of the Nandi bull stands as guard. The interiors of
the Kedarnath temple are exquisitely carved with image. It
was at Kedarnath, narrates the epic Mahabharat, that Yudhishthir,
the eldest of the Pandav brothers, departed to Heaven. Another
legend has it that the Pandavas of the Mahabharat epic underwent
severe penance's here to atone the killings of their kith
and kin in the great battle of Kurukshetra and so established
this shrine. The present temple is credited to Sri Shankaracharya
while the remains of an earlier structure, believed to belong
to the Pandava age, are seen behind this temple. The temple
of Sri Kedarnath is visited by hundreds of devotes every year.
The structure of the temple is much like other temples in
Uttaranchal. There is a large Nandi facing the main entrance.
Inside the temple is a rectangular space with railings around
it. All along the wall there are niches in which there are
idols of the Pancha Pandavas, Parvati, Lakshmi & Narada.
A small archway and a short flight of stairs lead to the deity.
The method of worshipping is also unique. One is supposed
to try to grab the large conical stone with both hands and
embrace it. It is cold and damp in the confined space and
during darshan time there is a fervent rush to embrace this
Ashutosh linga. Outside at the north-east corner is a small
temple of Ishaneshwar Mahadev.
According to one such legend Goddess Parvati worshipped Kedareswar
to unite with Lord Shiva as Ardhanareshwar. Another such legend
has it that Nar and Narayan, the two incarnations of Lord
Vishnu practised severe penances at Badrikashram in front
of a Shivalingam. When Lord shiva gave them the divine appearance,
they requested him to make Kedareshwar his permanent abode.
Lord Shiva thus manifessted himself in the form of Jyotirlingam.
Myths and legends coupled with the enehanting beauty of the
Rudra Himalaya range gives this place a pristine beauty. It
is believed that Arjuna, one of the Panch Pandavas worshipped
Lord Shiva to attain the divine weapon, Pasupataastra. After
winning the Kurukshetra war, The pandavas after having won
over the kauravas in the Kurukshetra war, felt guilty of having
killed their own brothers & sought the blessings of Lord
Shiva for redemption. In order to seek salvation from the
sins of war, they sought the advice of their mentor, Krishna.
Krishna advised them to worship Shiva. Pandavas searched for
Lord Shiva in the Shivalik mountains in the Tehri - Garhwal
region.
Shiva led them to this site and here, assumed the form of
Bull and started grazing amongst the cattle. The Pandavas
devised a ruse, to seek Shiva, who had hidden himself amidst
a flock of cattle. At dusk, when the cattle were taken back
to their shelters, Bhim – gigantic in stature , strongest
and courageous of Pandavas stretched his legs across the mountains
so that cattle could pass through his legs. As suspected,
Shiva, in bull form refused to do so and instead sank himself
into the earth. Realising quickly that this was the play of
Shiva, Bhim bent downwards and could catch hold of the hump
(back portion of the bull). Shiva, pleased with the determination
of Pandavas, blessed them and granted them salvation from
their sins. The hump, in conical form, is worshipped as Shiva
(in the form of a Shivalingam).
Kedarnath including these four shrines is treated as Panch
Kedar:
Kedarnath: The hump or the hinder part of
the bull which was held by Bhim is worshipped as Lord Shiva.
Maddhyamaheshvra : Nabhi or the middle-part of the
bull is worshipped as Lord Shiva. This is located at 21 kms
from Ukhimath – the abode for Lord Kedarnath during winter.
Tungnath: The Bahu or hand of the bull is worshipped
here as Lord Shiva. It is located enroute to Badrinath and
is 37 kms from Ukhimath, on a mountain in between Chamouli
and Ukkhimath.
Rudranath: The Mukh or the mouth of the bull is worshipped
as Lord Shiva here. It is about 19 kms from Mandal Chatti.
Kalpeshwar: The Jata or the hair of the head of bull
is worshipped as Lord Shiva. This place is located about 8.7
kms from Helang, on the other side of the river Alaknanda
