Kedarnath Dham - An Abode of God

Kedarnath Dham

It is situated next to the Mandakini River in Rudraprayag area in Uttarakhand State at a height about 3584 meters. Here, Kedarnath the supreme is adored in the form of Siva linga or Jyotirlinga ( twelfth number). Jyoti insinuates ray of sunshine and Lingam is within the kind of Shiva, The supreme power of God. The pilgrims visit Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in Himalayan range, which are collectively popular as Chota Chardham.

Kedarnath Temple

 We arrived at Gourikund Hot Springs in a rush, from right here we have been about to move to Kedarnath, which emerge as 15 or 16 km distance. However, we included a hot spring bath and got refreshed there. And as such the tour will exist in our memories forever. The travellers can view the scenic beauty while heading towards the blessed places. The beauty of the snow-clad slopes of hills, Rhododendrons the feeling of a divine beauty in the forest and exquisite Alpine rush.

Kedarnath Shivling Story

There could be a query that several people would have - why Kedarnath is in the shape of the hump? When the Kurukshetra battle was over,[According to Eskanda Purana] - Vysdev advised Pandavas that they should meet the God Shiva first (before attainment of their salvation) for seeking the God's forgiveness and blessings by admitting their shameless demonstration of the immoral act (Go Hatya and Guru Hatya) in Mahabharata battle. Therefore, when Pandavas had been progressing to the Himalayan range in search of Shiva, Lord Kedarnath did not wish to forgive them, so instead of appearing in his true form, Mahadev disguised himself as a bull to accompany them. In the course of the journey Bhima owing to his masculine character, tried to pull its tail to which Lord Shiva got mingled with the earth except for the hump that remained visible above the earth surface. That is why Kedarnath Shiva is a form of hump Lingam.

Kedarnath

The remaining parts of the body sprang up in different places, like the face at Rudranath, navel at Maheshwar, arms at Tunganath and hair emerged at Kalpeshwar. It is said to believe that the Pandavas had constructed these temples at the above five places. These five destinations are seen on the whole as Panch-Kedar.

Pandavas belief had flown to us, accordingly, it has become the belief of the Hindu Pilgrims that visiting the char dhams Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri & Yomunetry and worshipping the gods there will cleanse all our past sins and will open the door of heaven.

Another story says that Nara and Narayan who were the two incarnations of Lord Vishnu had preferred blessings from the God Shiva to take him up a Jyotirlingam shape at Kedarnath, in order that the humans can take away their suffering and unhappiness by means of worshipping the God Shiva.

It is believed that the King Parikshit's son Janmejay, who constructed the Kedarnath Temple, and later, Adi Shankaracharya who revived the Kedarnath.

Kedarnath A Himalayan Journey

We started our journey from Delhi and arrived at Hardwar. From there we reached Kedarnath via Rudraprayag, Phata and Guptkashi. It was about eight hours journey by Car, but owing to bad weather with significant rain and landslide we took more than ten hours. Phata to Guptkashi on road is 33 km., takes about one hour by car. Guptakashi to Kedarnath by walk is five hours journey.

Guptkashi

Guptkashi may be defined by way of mythological view: after the end of Kurukshetra War, the Pandavas were on their way to heaven and reached Guptkashi. They were busy seeking out Shiva once there. Lord Shiva first hid in Guptkashi and later fled to Kedarnath without meeting them.

The mountains around the snow and natural beauty of Guptkashi bring a feeling of divine joy. In Guptkashi Temple - there are two outlets of water. Panditji said these are flows of Ganga and Yamuna rivers having different tastes of water.

Places to visit near Guptkashi ➤Viswanath Temple; Manikarnik Kund and Ardhanariswar Temple (here the God is in the form of half Shiva and half Parvati).

Phata (Guptkashi Helipad) to Kedarnath Helipad, the Helicopter fare is Rs.6000/- per head. Flying time is approx. seven minutes, then by for about 400 meters up to Kedarnath Temple. Aged and weak persons, they can go by Palki and also can go by Pony. In this case, the fare will cost Rs.4000/-. The travellers while moving nearer in the direction of Kedarnath on the road, they will be passing by the river Mandakini together with her thundering voice. It would be charming inclination too. We saw the Mandakini River, which was far underneath and finally reached Kedarnath. The Temple is made of stone. We saw the "Aarti" there in the evening. The religious and incredible feeling packed us with bliss. One amongst our group mentioned if the other stunning places admittedly exist than that of such an excellent place!

Kedarnath Disaster

When there was a cloudburst in 2013, Kedarnath was the worst affected area. The adjacent area and the surrounding Villages were all swept away. Inside the temple, the idols of Pandavas were damaged by the water force. But there is a stone statue of Nandi Bull in front of the Kedarnath Temple which remains intact. Adi Sankaracharya's grave is behind the temple. 

                                                                       

A large rock (called Bhimshila), weighing about 4 tons, stood as a guard back to the temple and saved the Temple from the devastating flood. Still ( in the month of Sep'17), the adjacent areas of the Temple, there are full of rocks and nor it has become fully green even.

The explorers can go to the Bhairav Temple near Kedarnath Mandir. There are other places, where the travellers can go, like Gandhi Sarovar, Vasuki Tal etc.. However, because of time limitations, we needed to adhere to our timetable. Backed to Phata on the road via Chopta, there we had Puri & Sabji, the cost was Rs.50 each. The Chopta is known as mini Switzerland. The travellers can have viewed the forest of Rhododendron and Pine trees around Chopta. Trishul, Nandadevi and the Himalayan range can also be viewed from Chopta. We went from there to Joshimath (entry point of Badrinath) and finally reached Badrinath. It is believed that Adi Shankaracharya got enlightenment in Joshimath. Distance about 45 km by Car which took one and a half hour time, including sightseeing, tea break etc.

Best Time to Visit

Kedarnath Temple is open to visitors from April to November. During winter, the Vigraha (deity) is brought to Ukimath for worship from Kedarnath Temple.

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