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Introduction and History
Kedarnath Temple Mandira, ‘temple is a Hindu temple (shrine) dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The temple, at a height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), 223 km (139 mi) from Rishikesh, on the shores of Mandakini river, a tributary of Ganga, is a stone edifice of unknown date. It is not certain who built the original Kedarnath temple and when. The name “Kedarnath” means “the lord of the field”: it derives from the Sanskrit words kedara (“field”) and natha (“lord”). The text Kashi Kedara Mahatmya states that it is so called because “the crop of liberation” grows here.[8]
Many folk legends related to the Garhwal region, Lord Shiva and the creation of the Panch Kedar temples are narrated.
A folk legend about Panch Kedar relates to the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Pandavas defeated and slayed their cousins — the Kauravas in the epic Kurukshetra war. They wished to atone for the sins of committing fratricide (gotra hatya) and Brāhmanahatya (killing of Brahmins — the priest class) during the war. Thus, they handed over the reins of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of lord Shiva and to seek his blessings. First, they went to the holy city of Varanasi (Kashi), believed to be Shiva’s favourite city and known for its Kashi Vishwanath Temple. But, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was, therefore, insensitive to Pandavas’ prayers. Therefore, he assumed the form of a bull (Nandi) and hid in the Garhwal region.
Not finding Shiva in Varanasi, the Pandavas went to Garhwal Himalayas. Bhima, the second of the five Pandava brothers, then standing astride two mountains, started to look for Shiva. He saw a bull grazing near Guptakashi (“hidden Kashi ” — the name derived from the hiding act of Shiva). Bhima immediately recognized the bull to be Shiva. Bhima caught hold of the bull by its tail and hind legs. But the bull-formed Shiva disappeared into the ground to later reappear in parts, with the hump raising in Kedarnath, the arms appearing in Tungnath, the face showing up at Rudranath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar and the hair appearing in Kalpeshwar. The Pandavas pleased with this reappearance in five different forms, built temples at the five places for venerating and worshipping Shiva. The Pandavas were thus freed from their sins. It is also believed that the fore portions of Shiva appeared at Doleshwor Mahadev Temple, Bhaktapur district Nepal.
A variant of the tale credits Bhima of not only catching the bull, but also stopping it from disappearing. Consequently, the bull was torn asunder into five parts and appeared at five locations in the Kedar Khand of Garhwal region of the Himalayas.After building the Panch Kedar Temples, the Pandavas meditated at Kedarnath for salvation, performed yagna (fire sacrifice) and then through the heavenly path called the Mahapanth (also called Swargarohini), attained heaven or salvation.[citation needed]. The Panch Kedar Temples are constructed in the North-Indian Himalayan Temple architecture with the Kedarnath, Tungnath and Madhyamaheshwar temples looking similar.
After completing the pilgrimage of Lord Shiva’s darshan at the Panch Kedar Temples, it is an unwritten religious rite to visit Lord Vishnu at the Badrinath Temple, as a final affirmative proof by the devotee that he has sought blessings of Lord Shiva.
The Mahabharata, which gives the account of the Pandavas and the Kurukshetra War, does not mention any place called Kedarnath. One of the earliest references to Kedarnath occurs in the Skanda Purana (c. 7th-8th century), which contains a story describing the origin of the Ganges river. The text names Kedara (Kedarnath) as the place where Shiva released the holy water from his matted hair.
According to the hagiographies based on Madhava’s Sankshepa-shankara-vijaya, the 8th century philosopher Adi Shankara died at the mountains near Kedarnath; although other hagiographies, based on Anandagiri’s Prachina-Shankara-Vijaya, state that he died at Kanchipuram. The ruins of a monument marking the purported death place of Shankara are located at Kedarnath.Kedarnath was definitely a prominent pilgrimage centre by the 12th century, when it is mentioned in Kritya-kalpataru written by the Gahadavala minister Bhatta Lakshmidhara.
Kedarnath Teerth Purohits are the ancient Brahmins of this region, their ancestors (Rishi-Muni) have been worshiping the lingam since the time of Nara-Narayana. King Janmejay, grandson of the Pandavas, gave them the right of worshiping this temple, and they have been worshiping pilgrims ever since.
According to a tradition recorded by the English mountaineer Eric Shipton (1926), “many hundreds of years ago” one priest used to hold services at both the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples, travelling between the two places daily.
The presiding image of Kedarnath in the form of lingam is of irregular shape with a pedestal 3.6 m (12 ft) in circumference and 3.6 m (12 ft) in height. There is a small pillared hall in front of the temple that has images of Parvati and of the five Pandava princes. There are five temples around namely Kedarnath itself, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar and Kalpeshwar which form the Panch Kedar pilgrimage sites. The first hall inside Kedarnath Temple contains statues of the five Pandava brothers, Krishna, Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva and Virabhadra, one of the guards of Shiva. Statues of Draupadi and other deities are also installed in the main hall. An unusual feature of the temple is the head of a man carved in the triangular stone lingam. Such a head is seen carved in another temple nearby constructed on the site where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati was held. Adi Shankara was believed to have revived this temple, along with Badrinath and other temples of Uttarakhand; he is believed to have attained Mahasamadhi at Kedarnath. Behind the temple is the samādhi mandir of Adi Sankara.
The head priest (Raval) of the Kedarnath temple belongs to the Veerashaiva community from Karnataka. However, unlike in Badrinath temple, the Raval of Kedarnath temple does not perform the pujas. The pujas are carried out by Raval’s assistants on his instructions. The Raval moves with the deity to Ukhimath during the winter season. There are five main priests for the temple, and they become head priests for one year by rotation. The present (2013) Raval of Kedarnath temple is Shri Vageesha Lingacharya. Shri Vageesh Lingacharya who belongs to the Village Banuvalli of Taluka Harihar of Davanagere district in Karnataka. A triangular shaped lingam is worshiped in Garbhagriha of the temple. Surrounding Kedarnath, there are many symbols of the Pandavas. Raja Pandu died at Pandukeshwar. The tribals here perform a dance called “Pandav Lila”.[20] The mountain top where the Pandavas went to Swarga, is known as “Swargarohini”, which is located off Badrinath. When Yudhishtira, the eldest of the Pandavas, was leaving for the heaven, one of his fingers fell on the earth. At that place, Yudhishtira installed a Shiva Linga, which is the size of the thumb. To gain Mashisharupa, Lord Shiva and Bheema fought with maces. Bheema was struck with remorse. He started to massage Shiva’s body with ghee. In memory of this event, even today, this triangular Shiva lingam is massaged with ghee. Water and bilva-patra leaves are used for worship.
The temple is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river, in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open to the general public only between the months of April (Akshaya Tritiya) and November (Kartik Purnima, the autumn full moon). During the winters, the vigraha (deity) from Kedarnath temple is carried down to Ukhimath and where the deity is worshiped for the next six months. Kedarnath is seen as a homogenous form of Shiva, the ‘Lord of Kedarkhand’, the historical name of the region.
Photos
Video from YouTube
Presiding Deity
Lord Shiva 🙏
Timings
Monday to Sunday – Open timing MORNING 4:30am–12pm & EVENING 2:00 PM–8PM.
The Summer season is perfect to visit as it is so cold in winters in Uttarakhand which can cause Illness,difficulties.
Festivals
Mahashivratri, Durga Pooja, Navratris,Krishna Janmashtami,Ram Navami,Diwali, Holi, Hanuman Jayanti, Dussehra
etc…
Basic services
Drinking Water Cooler , CCTV Security, Prashada Serving, Puja Samagri stalls etc..
Activities
Open the Darbar gates of Presiding Diety and pay Prayers after Bhagwan Subrabhat Bhauj.
Morning Vedic enchanting and Nature’s welcome (ethnic way).
Vedic Yagya- To purify our inner self for realization and world peace.
Tribute to five basic elements i.e. Land, Water, Sky, Fire and Air.
Pay the last pray of the day in evening after Presiding God Bhauj.
THINGS TO DO
MEDITATION
Discover inner peace and positive energy through the ancient practice of meditation
AYURVEDA
If you are looking for holistic physical healing through non-invasive methods, Ayurveda could be of interest to you.
ASTROLOGY
Wish to know more about your stars and your place in the firmament? Consult an astrologer.
ARADHANA and ARCHANA
Devotees and visitors come here to take experience of pure spiritualism and peace as they use to do visit every day and pray to
Lord Shiva – Maa Parvati❤️🙏
Pooja, Aartis and Timing
Basically the Aartis to be performed as per the Concern Shraddhas of devotees and Concern Deities.
Believing Aartis are :
Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu & Lord Shiva at 5AM
Shiva Linga Aarti pooja at 5:30am.
Lord Ram Maa Sita Aarti and Pooja at 6:00am.
Dhyanam and “OM” Dhyanam at 6:30Am
Note:The above timings are common but not accurate!
Nearby Famous Temples
Anusuya Devi Temple
Maa Kalishila Temple
Markadeshwar Temple
Ukimath Omkar Mahadev Temple etc..
Nearby Dharamshalas and Hotels
Click the link below to look upon Hotels-
Link1
Link2
Famous Markets
Guptkashi Market
Main Market Nag Jagai
Makkumath Market
Chowk Bazar etc..
👉Click HERE to know more about markets.
Restaurants
Please click the links below to know about Restaurants-
Link1
Link2
Hospitals
Govt Hospital
Asha Didi(medical
P H C Ukhimath
Primary Health Center etc..
👉Click HERE to know about more Hospitals.
Concern Police Stations
Police Base Camp Kedarnath
Gauri Kund – Kedarnath Dham Trekking Way, Garuriya, Uttarakhand 246445
094111 12611
Police Checkpost Sonprayag पुलिस चौकी सोनप्रयाग
Kedarnath Rd, Sonprayag, Uttarakhand 246471
0135 243 0261
Names, phone numbers , photos and brief introduction of Pujaris, Archaks, Mahants and Management Committy.
Details to be taken.
Miscellaneous information
Details to be taken.
Legal information
The temple is situated on legal site taking care by Govt. and Mandir Community, there is no legal obligation on Temple Property or Temple Schedule, Criteria,Rules etc..
The temple was included in the Uttar Pradesh State Government Act No. 30/1948 as Act no. 16,1939, which came to be known as Shri Badarinath and Shri Kedarnath Mandir Act. The committee nominated by the state government administers both temples. The act was modified in 2002 by the Uttarakhand State Government, which provisioned adding additional committee members including government officials and a vice-chairman.There are a total of seventeen members in the board; three selected by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, one member each selected by the District Councils of Chamoli, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal and Uttarkashi districts, and ten members nominated by the Government of Uttarakhand.On the religious side, there is a Rawal (chief priest) and three other priests: Naib Rawal, Acharya/Dharmadhikari and Vedpathi.The administrative structure of the temple consists of a chief executive officer who executes the orders from the state government. A deputy chief executive officer, two OSDs, an executive officer, an account officer, a temple officer and a publicity officer assist the chief executive officer.
Samajik Sahayat,Goshalas, Sadhus, Sants, Mahants, Famous Dharmik Writers/ Musicians/Dancers/ Craftsmen around the Temple.
Initiattives like Pashu Sewa, Pakshi Sewa, Langar Sewa, Vedic Pathshalas etc Plannings in process.
There is a temple group of some devotees who use to role as band of temple as they do kirtans, Kathas and Narrating sewas time to time.
Mitra Mandal Link for Advice/Guidance*
Forms will be allow to fill for getting membership soon.
Modes of Travel
Kedarnath is located in the state of Uttarakhand. It can be reached by road from the base Gaurikund. It has connectivity with some railway stations and airports. Here is how to reach Kedarnath:
By Air
The nearest domestic airport is Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, about 239 km from Kedarnath and operates daily flights to Delhi. Taxis are available from Dehradun airport to Kedarnath. Nearest international airport is Delhi.
By Train
The nearest railhead is at Rishikesh, 221 km away. Pre-paid taxi services are available at the railway station which charge about Rs 3,000. One has to travel 207 km by road and the rest 14 km on foot to reach Kedarnath.
By Road
Visitors can board regular buses from Rishikesh and Kotdwar to Kedarnath. Private taxis can also be hired from these places. The National Highway from Delhi to Mana (538 km) remains open throughout the year. Kedarnath is also accessible by foot from GauriKund, which is connected by state buses to Rishikesh, Dehradun, Kotdwara and Haridwar. The bus fares vary depending on the season.
👉Click HERE to know about weather in Uttarakhand.
Address for Donation and visiting purpose
Kedarnath Temple
Kedarnath, Uttarakhand 246445
01389 222 083
Visitors Views
Apart from the structural beauty, the divine rituals around the Temple are also the main centres of attraction for devotees. We at Mandir Darshan, we intend to provide you with the tiniest details of every temple and the rituals carried out in the premises. With us as your touring guides of Uttarakhand, you are sure to explore and enjoy every bit of the numinous land. The Data mentioned above as links are taken from Google, YouTube, TripAdvisor, Just Dial, Wikipedia, Google Maps etc,. just for Knowledge purpose. There is no Followers or Money gaining intentions behind that!