Who built Kedarnath temple? Know story of Kedarnath and importance of Kedarnath dham.
INDEX➣importance of Kedarnath
➣Where is Kedarnath mandir located?
➣How to reach Kedarnath temple?
➣What is the best time to go to Kedarnath Yatra?
➣Origin & Greatness of Kedarnath
➣Story of Kedarnath
|| Fun fact ||
➣Establishment of modern Kedarnath temple
➣Temple Architecture & Design of Kedarnath temple
➣kedarnath incident
➣Kedarnath disaster: Natural/Made by us
➣Fun fact about Kedarnath movie
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| pic. Kedarnath picture at night |
Introduction of Kedarnath
Kedarnath is Tirth ( a place that offers the possibility that one can “cross over” or “ford” the ocean of rebirth) but instead Kedarnath-ji is best viewed as a dham, Kedarnath dham, an especially powerful abode of Shiva. More specifically along with Manimahesh is in modern-day Himachal Pradesh, Amarnath is in J&K , Kailash Mansarovar is in Tibet, Pashupatinath is in Nepal. Kedarnath temple is one of the most famous places, where Shiva is understood and experienced to dwell in the Himalayas i.e. the place where he can pursue his yogic practices. Kedarnath yatra is best way to rejuvenate the soul.
Also it is one of twelve Jyotirlingas( Kedarnath jyotirlinga), which are present in India where Shiva's universal form of a vibrating column of light embeds itself in the ground. The Linga present contained in the temple is the focal point of Shiva's presence in kedarnath. Initially the word Kedarnath is a combination of two words , one is Kedar which means Marshy Ground (daldali bhumi) and another is Nath which means god , thus kedarnath means the``god of marshy ground`` . The kedarnath dham is both a place-name and a name for Shiva also.
Significance of Kedarnath
For at least several centuries and potentially much longer, Kedarnath dham has been a place connected to a web of stories and ritual practices that involve Shiva’s presence and absence, the human pursuit of God and self-perfection, the transition from life to death, and the imperfections built into being human and trying to act in ways that are just, righteous, and true to your own nature—that is to say, according to dharma. Kedarnath is a place full of power. The term power primarily as a rough translation of the term shakti. Here is a short description about ``kedarnath-ji`` including its importance in Sanatan Dharma. Kedarnath is one of the Dham among Char-Dham , one of the jyotirlinga among twelve Jyotirlingas and also one among Panch-kedar.
Where is Kedarnath temple located?
Kedarnath mandir is located at Garhwal Mountain range of a town(Kedarnath) of Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, India. the town situated beside the river Mandakini, which is also known as Kedarnath river.
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| pic. Kedarnath image 2018 |
How to reach Kedarnath temple?
Kedarnath Temple can only be reached by a trek from Gaurikund which is the only road easily accessible from Kedarnath. Rishikesh is the nearest railway station(216km) and the nearest airport is in Dehradun(240km). One can prefer Helicopter booking for kedarnath to reach kedarnath by helicopter. Near Kedarnath hotels are also present which are good place to stay.
- Kedarnath to badrinath distance by road- 218 km
- Kedarnath to Haridwar distance by road - 125 km
- Kedarnath to gangotri distance by road - 408 km
- Kedarnath to Delhi distance by road - 452 km
What is the best time/ month to go Kedarnath?
Due to extreme weather conditions the temple is open for common citizens only between April and November. It is advisable to devotees to go there in summer season, roads become slippery in monsoon.Origin and Greatness of Kedarnath
For at least several centuries and potentially much longer, Kedarnath has been a place connected to a web of stories and ritual practices that involve Shiva’s presence and absence, the human pursuit of God and self-perfection, the transition from life to death, and the imperfections built into being human and trying to act in ways that are just, righteous, and true to your own nature—that is to say, according to dharma.
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| pic. A beauty of Kedarnath temple |
Kedarnath Story /Who built Kedarnath Temple?
There are many stories , one can find Gujarati stories, another can accept the Marathi one . There is no single definite story that can depict that " this is the god's importance, and this is the greatness of place" .But there is a best one which happened after Epic Mahabharata (hopefully you are aware about this). The story tells that after the war of Mahabharata, The Pandavas have done many sins till then and they need the atonement of their sins.So they approached Lord Krishna Ji to find the solution.
They asked Kanha ``hey Lord we did all these wicked things because you told us that it's dharma but what about the sin``. Then Lord krishna stated that "yes, although you are with dharma you have killed your king, your brothers and also your teacher which is really a wicked did (aghor paap) and you should do atonement (prayaschit)". Now, the Yudhishthira asked Krishna" So, how can we do atonement". Since Lord Shri Krishna knew that there is a jyotirlinga there in Kedar and also the fact that until the Pandavas took darshan of that linga their wickedness (paap) would not be cleansed.
So, he replied to Yudhishthira, " Go to the Himalaya, go where God has a place called Kedar. God has a jyotirlinga there and he himself is present (Virajman) in that place, and until that linga appears to you there and until you touch it till that you will not obtain the actual darshan of God.”, the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi left their palace to do atonement (prayaschit) for the killing they did ,and moved in a path called Mahapanth. And when the Guptakashi ,Lord Shankar and Mother Parvati were resting there, and Mother Parvati was troubled that the Pandavas were distressed and worrying, “Where has he gone, has he gone in this valley or that valley. . .. Where is this road?”.
So, Lord Shankar says to Mother Parvati . . . "their goal is there in the Himalaya, at Kedarnath, they have to search for the linga at Kedarnath (i.e.not Guptkashi) ". So Mother Parvati says, “You do what you want, but I will certainly give them darshan.“ So Lord Shankar disappeared—there in a manner of speaking he became hidden (gupt). And they say that this is where Guptkashi (hidden Kashi) gets its name, and there (in Guptkashi) Mother Parvati herself gives darshan to the Pandavas and then she guided the Pandavas by telling the path they should choose to reach to Kedarnath ji.
When Pandavas moved towards Kedarnath-ji they saw an illusion in the shape of a buffalo (maya -rupi bhainsa) . And looking at the buffalo Pandavas got to know that the bhagwan shiv had changed his roop. But till now Shiv ji was hiding in the cattle herd So ... Yudhishthira said to Bhima, `` Make those buffaloes come out from the herd one by one since they know that Shiv ji was hiding in the same herd. Bhim started doing as his elder brother suggested. So, finally the buffalo which was God came near Linga and right at that moment got absorbed into The Shiva Linga.
Looking at this, Pandavas touched it and thus they touched God. At the same time the buffalo disappeared and there it is… the divine form got extended and God in true form gave darshan to Pandavas. And then Pandavas made a temple there with that linga. The Linga was in the formation of a hump of buffalo. Since then Kedarnath-ji has been present there.Also,it is said that first kedarnath route was made by Pandavas Now, who built kedarnath temple (modern temple).
They asked Kanha ``hey Lord we did all these wicked things because you told us that it's dharma but what about the sin``. Then Lord krishna stated that "yes, although you are with dharma you have killed your king, your brothers and also your teacher which is really a wicked did (aghor paap) and you should do atonement (prayaschit)". Now, the Yudhishthira asked Krishna" So, how can we do atonement". Since Lord Shri Krishna knew that there is a jyotirlinga there in Kedar and also the fact that until the Pandavas took darshan of that linga their wickedness (paap) would not be cleansed.
So, he replied to Yudhishthira, " Go to the Himalaya, go where God has a place called Kedar. God has a jyotirlinga there and he himself is present (Virajman) in that place, and until that linga appears to you there and until you touch it till that you will not obtain the actual darshan of God.”, the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi left their palace to do atonement (prayaschit) for the killing they did ,and moved in a path called Mahapanth. And when the Guptakashi ,Lord Shankar and Mother Parvati were resting there, and Mother Parvati was troubled that the Pandavas were distressed and worrying, “Where has he gone, has he gone in this valley or that valley. . .. Where is this road?”.
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When Pandavas moved towards Kedarnath-ji they saw an illusion in the shape of a buffalo (maya -rupi bhainsa) . And looking at the buffalo Pandavas got to know that the bhagwan shiv had changed his roop. But till now Shiv ji was hiding in the cattle herd So ... Yudhishthira said to Bhima, `` Make those buffaloes come out from the herd one by one since they know that Shiv ji was hiding in the same herd. Bhim started doing as his elder brother suggested. So, finally the buffalo which was God came near Linga and right at that moment got absorbed into The Shiva Linga.
Looking at this, Pandavas touched it and thus they touched God. At the same time the buffalo disappeared and there it is… the divine form got extended and God in true form gave darshan to Pandavas. And then Pandavas made a temple there with that linga. The Linga was in the formation of a hump of buffalo. Since then Kedarnath-ji has been present there.Also,it is said that first kedarnath route was made by Pandavas Now, who built kedarnath temple (modern temple).
Establishment of Modern temple
The establishment of modern temples also has different Stories.According to the Garhwal Vikas Nigam the temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya in the eight century and so existed when the Little Ice Age of 1300-1900 AD. But according to Raja bhoj of Gwalior, The Raja bhoj of Malwa has built the temple. However, when it comes to architecture and design of the temple it is far better than many modern Temples.
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| pic. Rare old image of Kedarnath temple |
Architecture and Design of Kedarnath
The Kedarnath temple like any other ancient temple of India is constructed in ashlar style of construction where stones are interlocked with each other in man-woman design and is made without use of any mortar or cement. These stone slabs are heavily policed which make it capable to withstand the floods and other natural calamities.
The interior of the temple consists of a prayer-hall and an inner sanctum (Garbha-Griha ). The idol of Lord Shiva is in the shape of "Hump of buffalo" or you can say that in triangular shape with the center of the Linga raised at height . The walls have carving and engraving dedicated to many gods and deities like Maa Parwati etc. When inside the temple one can easily feel the ancient aura which is well preserved.On entering the temple another tiny, golden sculpture of Nandi the cow is present which again enhances the design of the temple. Overall the temple is the best place to rejuvenate the soul of people.
According to scientists of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, Kedarnath temple survived being buried under the snow for almost 4oo years.
Kedarnath flood 2013
In 2013, the Kedarnath and whole Uttarakhand faced heavy rainfalls which resulted in floods and landslides. Many tourists and residents were killed in this disaster and many lost their shelters. Kedarnath flood date was 17th June, it was the date science when kedarnath weather started devastation.
Also many of the government and private property got damaged. The team of NDRF, ITBP and many Public Work Department and many local organisations were deployed to rescue people left in many remote areas. But due to the remoteness of the place, rescue operation was also difficult.
NIDM says that about 169 people lost their lives and 4,021 were missing (later many of them were found dead).Now, questions arises that how Kedarnath temple survived flood. The kedarnath temple was saved by a truck sized stone known as Bhima shila situated behind the temple saved the temple.
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| pic. Kedarnath temple image |
Kedarnath disaster: Natural/Made by us
At first when seen at surface level, the reason for disaster was heavy rainfall and landslides. But Intellectuals Unplanned construction, heavy unmanaged tourism and intensive mining in this area, are some of the reasons that this natural disaster was man-made that increased its intensity.Whatever be the reason kedarnath tragedy was an unacceptable truth.
Fun fact about Kedarnath movie
In 2019 a movie was made in the name of Kedarnath, however not the full Kedarnath movie was based on it because that was a romantic movie in which Late Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan were in lead role. Irrespective of questions that movie kedarnath hit or flops the movie has displayed the beauty of temple in best way.
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