Kedarnath
Kedarnath is the place where lord Shiva stays. And in the Hindu religion, the trek to Kedarnath is one of the most difficult pilgrimages. It is the 11th Jyotirlinga out of 12 Jyotirlingas in India, which Adi Guru Shankaracharya established. Also, the Kedarnath temple is a part of char Dham.
Apart from Kedarnath, there are three other temples in Chardham: Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. Kedarnath is taken from the Sanskrit words ‘kedara’, which means ‘field’, and ‘Natha’, which means ‘lord’. This field of land is found in Uttarakhand. Kedarnath temple is located at the height of 3587 meters, in the lap of gigantic mountain cliffs and near the Mandakini River.
According to the rituals of Hindus, it is deemed that the life of a person is not completed until he visits the pilgrimage of char Dham. This temple has several specialties, which make it different from other temples in India. For instance, in the Kedarnath temple, devotees can meet Lord Shiva only between 5-6 am.
According to the Hindu Calendar, the temple opens on ‘Akshay Tritiya’ or ‘Mahashivratri’ and closes on ‘Bhai Dooj’ (the day after Diwali).
About the history of Kedarnath temple-
The Kedarnath temple was built in the 8th century. Adi Shankaracharya is credited with the revitalization of Hinduism in India after the dark periods of the religion, which was compelled by considerable innovations by different societies of the tribe and further foreign invaders.
But he wanted to revive the spirit of Hinduism among the citizens of India, and he did not show it by traveling the breadth and length of the country and simultaneously establishing monasteries, shrines, and temples.
The legends have it that after the battle of Kurukshetra, the Pandavas went on a journey from Varanasi to Kedarnath to take the blessings of lord Shiva because they were guilty of killing their family members.
Afterward, the Pandavas and Draupadi departed for the Himalayas in the quest of Lord Shiva. However, lord Shiva avoided meeting them and hid in Guptkashi. In Guptakashi, Lord Shiva acquired the form of a bull.
Then Bheem saw lord Shiva, and at a certain point, he started dipping inside the soil where lord Shiva was standing. To stop him, Bheem grabbed the bull’s tail and began apologizing to him.
At present, the temple PanchKedar has been built where the bull’s hump, mouth, and feet come out. The Lord was pleased with their tremendous efforts and decided to grant them a pardon. With due respect to the Lord, the Pandavas founded the Kedarnath temple.
The reason behind visiting Kedarnath-
The word ‘Kedar’ also means powerful. Kedarnath is the most prominent place for Hindus, and they have immense faith that by visiting lord Shiva’s temple, he will remove all their sorrows away. Also, people find great peace in Kedarnath because of Lord Shiva’s energy and the flowing water of the Mandakini River.
Apart from it, people also believe that all the sins they have incurred in this life will be washed away by visiting Kedarnath. Also, the architecture and the view of Kedarnath are quite impressive indeed.
How to reach Kedarnath temple-
At present, the government has minimized the difficulty level of reaching Kedarnath. The helicopter facility has been started to minimize one’s time and struggle to reach Kedarnath.
Usually, by road, it takes 5-6 hours to reach Kedarnath, and from there, the trek of 16 km starts, leading you to the temple. You start your journey from Rishikesh, traveling towards Devprayag(71 Km), then towards Srinagar (39.5 KM), Rudraprayag(33.1 KM), Gaurikund (72.4 KM), Guptkashi (29.9 KM), phata(14.2 KM), Sitapur (11.7 KM), sonprayag, and Kedarnath (13.2 KM) subsequently. And after reaching Kedarnath, there is a trek of 16 km. After covering the 16 km trek, you will reach Kedarnath temple.
The architecture of Kedarnath temple-
Kedarnath temple is created with grey stones. The stone lapse is merged with the help of iron clamps. At the time of construction, the temple attracted devotees with an irregularly shaped lingam with a length of around 3.6 meters/12 feet.
Also, the interior of the temple is quite mesmerizing. In front of the Kedarnath temple is a small hall with images of Pandavas and Mata Parvati.
The hall present at the opening of Kedarnath temple is adorned with idols of Lord Krishna, Pandavas, Nandi, Draupadi, Veerbhadra, and many other deities. A grand idol of Nandi welcomes you outside the temple door.
Inside the Kedarnath temple is a conical Rock structure deemed a Sadashiv form of Shiva. The temple also has a ‘Garbha Griha’ for worship and a mandapa for pilgrims.
Tourist places near Kedarnath-
Kedarnath is a place where people usually come to meet Lord Shiva and worship him. But apart from that, there are several tourist places nearby as well where the devotee can visit, including Panchkedar, Triyuginarayan, Kali Mata, AugustyaMuni, Chopra, Deoria Tal, Gupta Kashi, etc. It further makes the journey to Kedarnath a memorable one.
The Flanks of Kedarnath
On the long side of Kedarnath, the Mandakini River flows peacefully. The fresh air and mesmerizing view attract people towards it. The path of the 16 km trek is very difficult to cover even though every year, thousands of people come to Kedarnath to take the blessings of Lord Shiva.