Kedarnath one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. Kedarnath temple is one of the four pillars of Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra(also known as India’s Chota Char Dham). Reaching Kedarnath is not a cup of tea. But many devotee reached there to see astonishing aspects of the temple and snow-capped mountains.
About Kedarnath Temple
Kedarnath Temple situated in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. It lies in the foothills of Garhwal Himalayan range at an altitude of 3600m above sea level. Kedarnath Temple situated on the shores of river Mandakini.
Kedarnath Temple open in the end of Akshaya Tritriya (April) to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon,November). During winters the worship of Vigrahas(deities) of the Kedarnath temple ‘Baba Kedarnath’ commenced at the Omkareshwar Temple, Ukhimath. Kedarnath deity worshipped at Omkareshwar Temple for six months.
Kedarnath Temple was constructed by Pandavas, later in 8th A.D. Kedarnath Temple renovated and constructed by Adi Shankaracharya.
Priest
The head priest of Kedarnath Temple known as Rawal. Rawal belongs to the Veerashaiva community from Karnataka. Rawal of Kedarnath Temple does not perform pujas unlike Badrinath Temple Rawal. The poojas are carried out by Rawal assistants. Rawal teaches pujaris about the poojas. There are five main priests, every year one of them became the head priests by rotation.
Hindu Mythology
According to Hindu mythology, Pandavas killed their relatives at Mahabharata Yuddh (War). To atone for their sins, they want to pardon from the god Shiva. But Lord Shiva did not want to meet them, because of their sins. So, Lord Shiva left Kashi and went to Gupatkashi as the disguised form of Nandi (a bull vehicle of Shiva). At their Nakul and Sahadev found a unique-bull. Then Pandavs chase that bull. But bull was clever and Pandavs did not catch him. Then bull hides his face into the earth, but finally Bheema start pulling the tail of the bull. In this thug war the face of the bull went straight to Nepal, leaving its hind part at Kedar. Today the face of the bull is known as Doleshwar Mahadev, located at Nepal. Finally Pandvas got Lord Shiva and saw him in the form of a bull here. By getting darshsan of Lord Shiva, the pandavas were a acquit of their sins.
A triangular shaped rock is worshipped in Grabhagruha of the temple.
Kedarnath Temple has statues of the Pandavas, Lord Krishna, Nandi (the vehicle of Lord Shiva), Virabhadra, Darupadi and other deities.
Panch-Kedar
When Nandi (disguised form of Lord Shiva) vanished from Guptakashi into the ground during Pandavas pursued him, after that Lord Shankar reappeared in the five different forms. Those five different forms are known as Panch kedar:
- Kedarnath : Lord Shiva hump or back worshiped.
- Tungnath: Lord Shiva arms worshiped.
- Rudranath: Lord Shiva face worshiped.
- Madhyamaheshwar: Lord Shiva navel and stomach worshiped.
- Kalpeshwar: Lord Shiva hairs worshiped.
Track
To reach temple one should take helicopter or via 16km uphill track. Pilgrims can take helicopter from Fata. But the 16km uphill track starts from Gaurikund, one can take the help of pre-arranged horses and ponies to get there.
In 16 and 17 June 2013, Kedarnath Temple hit with unprecedented flash flood. It causes mass destruction and taking lives of many people. But the huge rock stuck behind the temple and protected it from the ravage flood. This flood damage the exterior of the temple but, the interior was not so much damaged and bought in original condition in no time.
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