History of Kedarnath Temple

Kedarnath Temple is one of the many Hindu temples dedicated to god Shiva, and it wont be
wrong to say that its one of the most prominent ones. Located on the Garhwal Himalayan
range The Kedarnath temple is lies at an height of 3,583 m, in the proximity of the Mandakini
River, a tributary of the river Ganga which flows in Kedarnath, which is located 223 km
from Rishikesh, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The area faces extreme cold weather
conditions, because of which the temple is open and accessible only between the months of
April (end) to November (beginning). The temple is an impressive stone edifice whose exact
date of establishment is unknown. Although some people and historians believe that the
structure dates back to 8th century. The temple stands on a plateau which is surrounded by
snow Cladded Mountains and glaciers. Directly opposite to inner shrine of the temple there is
a statue of Lord Nandi which carved out of rock. Lord Nandi was considered the biggest
follower of Lord Shiva.

As far as the historical significance of the temple is concerned, according to Hindu

mythology, during the holy war of Kurukshetra also known as the Mahabharata the Kauravas
and the Pandavas fought each other. In this battle a lot of their own kin got killed. To get
penance from this sin and earn absolution the Pandavas went for a pilgrimage. The Pandavas
left Kashi ionce they came to know that Lord Vishweshwara was in Kailash which is situated
amid the peaks of Himalayas. On not finding him Dharamraj also known as Yudhishtra
declared My Lord you have concealed yourself from us because we all have sinned. The
only possible way to wash off our sins is by seeing you almighty. This place where you chose
to hide yourself will be known as Guptakshi and be worshipped as a shrine from this day
forth. From there the Pandavas continued on their journey and reached Gaurikund in the
valleys of the Himalayas. They searched the place for Lord Shankara. During this search
Nakul and Sahdev happened to find a strange looking unique he-buffalo. Bheema approached
the creature with hi mace. Although Bheema could not catch the clever buffalo but ultimately
he hit the buffalo with his mace. Because of which the buffalo dig its head in the crevice in
the earth. According to the myth Bheema started pulling the buffalo out by its tail and in this
tug of war of pulling and resisting the buffalo got beheaded with the head rising from the
ground and falling straight in Nepal and the hind parting staying there with the tail in
Bheemas hands. The head is known as Pashupatinath in Nepal. After this turn of events a
glorious JyotirLinga, Mahesh appeared from the hind part of the creature. Lord Shankara
gave showed his presence to his devotees by appearing from this glorious sight. The
Pandavas got penance from their sins on getting to see the incarnation of Lord Shankara. The
Lord told the Pandavas that henceforth hell remain there in form of JyotirLinga which will
be triangular in shape and all the devotees wholl visit Kedar and witness this will attain
piety.
There are many other places around this area like Pandukeshwar, this is the place where King
Pandu (father of the Pandavas) died while making love to her beloved Madri. In order to pay
him homage the tribal people perform their local dance Pandav Nritya. The top of the
mountain from where the Pandavas went on to heaven is famous by the name of
Swargarohini. Its a famous myth that while leaving for Heaven Dharamrajs one of the

fingers fell on the earth. At that very exact place he made a Shiva Linga of the size of a
thumb.
There are numerous other local myths also signifying the importance of this place but this
one is the most prevalent of all. The temple is simple made out of stone with not much work
done on architecture and cravings etc. matching the attire and personality of Lord Shiva. The
temple is so religious that it is one of the 4 holy Dhams of India meaning in order to attain
inner peace and Moksha one has to pay a visit to this temple apart from the other three. It is
believed that after visiting this temple the sorrows and other negativity dont even come in
the dreams of the followers. The religious significance of this temple is huge and is
frequently visited by hoards of people not only from India but also from abroad.

How to reach Kedarnath?

Kedarnath is located in the Rudraprayag district of Uttrakhand. Because of its location the
Holy temple is not directly accessible by road. One can reach Kedarnath via all three major
means of transportation i.e. via car/bus, train or by air. In order to reach here if you are
travelling from south of the temple, you have to go via Delhi. The nearest railway stations
are that of Haridwar and Rishikesh. From the major cities like Delhi and Chandigarh
Rishikesh is at a distance of 230 km and 215 km respectively which takes about 4-5 hours in
train. From both Haridwar and Rishikesh there are regular buses to Gaurikund which is the
nearest town to Kedarnath. Gaurikund is nearly 220 kms ahead of Rishikesh. If you are
travelling via air then the nearest airport is that of Dehradun. Dehradun is at a distance of 167
km from Chandigarh if you are travelling from the north of the temple and its 240 kms from
Delhi if you are travelling from the South. From Dehradun Gaurikund is 250 kms far ahead to
where there are regular buses or if you want you can even get a cab for yourself also. Once
youve reached Gaurikund you can reach Kedarnath from there only by going through a steep
13 km trek through a properly paved path. There are horses, ponies and palanquins available
at Gaurikund which can be hired for rent. The rent of these are subject to change according to
the service providers. Because of the distance, weather conditions and tiring and treacherous
trek it generally takes more than a day to reach Kedarnath from Gaurikund. Now a days the
facility to travel via helicopter is also very common and widely used. There are various
places in Uttrakhand like Phata, Dehradun, Gauchar, Agustmuni, Sitapur from where the
helicopter services to Kedarnath are available. There are small villages around the temple
where there are enough provisions for staying overnight and food etc.
The road till Gaurikund is totally safe and mesmerizing. The trek from Gaurikund till
Kedarnath is treacherous but the love for Lord Shiva and also the amazing scenic beauty of
the place makes it comfortable, exciting and less tiring.