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| Kedarnath Temple, Uttar Pradesh |
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 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). |
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