The holiest of all holy temples in India lies in the height of 3,584 kms in the Himalayan range off Garhwal region in the Uttarakhand. It is Kedarnath. According to Hindu scriptures and calendar, Kedarnath is the destinations of millions of Hindus from all over the world every year.
Perched atop the Garhwal Himalayas in the Rudraprayag district, the holy site has a nagar panchayat too near the source peaks of river Mandakini in the backdrop of breath-taking permanently covered in snow. Mythologically Kedarnarth is also the Heaven where would come every righteous Hindu after death and would face the analyses of their works, good or bad, during their lifetime. Should he or she be able to see the Lord their sins may be pardoned, if not they would have to undergo what the destiny has ordained for them and that would be decided by the God of Death Yama.
The site is revered as the abode of Lord Shiva, who lived happily with his wife Parvati, daughter of Mount Kailash. The Oldest Hindu scripture Puran is replete with many interesting stories about Lord Shiva and his penance for the welfare of the ‘srishti'(Creation). A story relates to Pandavas’ journey to Heaven to seek His ‘Darshan’ (pilgrimage) so as to wash out all the sins they were dragged into committing in their fight against Kauravas, who indeed were Pandavas’ own relations. Lord Shiva, having envisioned the Pandavas’ cherished goals, and unwilling to condescend to the ‘Darshan’, hid in the folds of the snow-capped hills. The Pandavas even had seen the Lord from the distance of Haridwar, where they reached from Kashi in search of Lord Shiva, who avoided them and was hiding from their reach.
The Pandavas were confident that Lord Shiva would definitely be at Kedarnath and follow d Him ardently. It all was a story of determined devotion o the Mighty Lord and His testing of His devotees’ intensity of devotion. Failed in their attempts, they were frustrated. The Lord realised their determination. With a view to further testing their devotion, Bhagwan Shiv metamorphosed Himself into the shape of a Bull and began grazing among the cattle under a hill. Bhim, the second Pandava, had doubted something, stretched one of his massive legs across the hills under which the cattle were grazing and curiously noticed that at the fall of dark when all cattle returned to their sheds, the Bull did not, as He could not cross the cover of the human leg. Soon Bhima realised who the Bull was. Before he could move to catch the Bull, Lord Shiva, in His metamorphosed avatar hide under the earth, where Bhima could not enter. Before He could indeed take Himself totally under the earth, Bhima managed to catch hold of his tail, which could not go under the earth.
Pleased at their determination, Lord Shiva blessed them with mercy and recompensed them with the advise that they should then onwards worship the hind of the Bull as Him. This Bull is called Nandi. Rudraprayag, which now is the district township and under which Kedarnath is a municipality, was known as Guptakashi in the Puranic times. The Pandavas had first gone to Kashi to find out Lord Shiva, Who had fled to Guptakashsi with a view to denying them a ‘Darshan’, was actually found out by the Pandavas owing to hard perseverance.
The legend has it, as Bhima pulled the tail of the Bull, it thrust itself into the earth and vanished. Later Lord Shiva appeared in five different manifestations: At Kalpeshwar as Hair, at Rudranath as its face, at Kedarnath as its hump, at Madhyamaheshwara as its stomach and at Tunganath as its front legs. These are the five Kedarnathas, or in Sanskrit, called Pancha Kedar manifestation.
Kedarnath site was also the place where Goddess Parvati conquered the heart of Lord Shiva when He was in the middle of hard penance and was meditating about future of ‘srishti’. Soon after they were married. This was also the place, where Arjun, the third Pandava, sat for a hard tapasya to win a boon from Lord Shiva the invincible weapon Pashupati Astra.
On the hind part of Nandi Bull appeared a Jyotirlinga. This Jyotirlinga is one of the twelve such flaming torch with divine light which are all sacred pilgrimages for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. This Kedarnarth also has many symbols of King Pandu’s death while making love to his Queen Madri, the mother of Nakul and Sahadev. This was also the site where Emperor Nar-Narayan earned by hard penance Lord Shiva’s agreement that He would live in Kedarnath and remain there always to ensure salvation to His devotees. Visit of Kedarnath is not free from treacherous hilly terrains. It is a journey of tremendous courage and arduous uphill expedition.
One can access the Temple only by a trek of about 14 kms up the treacherous hill terrains, from the from the Gauri Kund site. The Shivaling is self-manifest at Gauri Kund in the form of hind-part of the bull. Nobody is said to have set up the Shivaling there. A few kms up there is a treacherous steep cliff which is dreadful. The devout has to cover that cliff, and that’s mostly a dangerous exercise. This cliff is known as Bhariguptan or Bhairav Udan. This 14-km trek is full of life-threatening situations, but one only attains Moksha there and not Death, according to Hindu scriptures, as forsaking life in that terrains is as good as attaining salvation of soul. There are eight faces of the Kedarnatrh Temple, where are eight different holy sites.
There is a safer route, however, through Rudraprayag, but it is longer than the one through Chopta and Ukhimath. The shorter route is exquisitely picturesque. There are lush natural vegetation created by the virgin eco-systems still untouched by our civilization.
In the backdrop of waterfalls, emanating from Mandakini as it fiercely flew down through terrific gorges and the snow-clad Nanda Devi heights.
According to records, Ukhimath is indeed a corruption of the Ushamath, where the marriage of progenies of one of the venerably powerful people took place – Sri Krishna’s great grandson Aniruddha and Rishi Vanasur’s daughter Usha. The Kedarnath Temple has a spectacular imposing sight in the middle of snow-peaks and on a snow-covered plateau, shining with nature’s lights all the time. The present Termple built by Adi Shankaracharya is actually adjacent to the one the great Pandavas had constructed aeons ago. Inside the temple are innumerable Hindu deities. At the entrance there is the idol of the hind of the Nandi Bull, large and awe-inspiring. Ancient architecture dot the interiors of the Temple. There is a ‘Garbha Griha’ and a mandap for pilgrims’ gathering and prayers.
The deity is a massive hump-shaped rock. Devouts sit around the Deity to anoint the mound of rock with milk, ghee, white flowers, bell (marmelos or wood-apple) leaves, haritaki (myrobalan) and kumkum (scented water) — all available from stalls and make-shift shops at nearby cluster down the height mostly set up by Pandas’ relatives or friends. It is a lifetime aspiration of every devout Hindu to worship Lord Shiva in such a proximity, as the Pandas would take him or her near the idol while profusely reciting mantras. It is an awe inspiring moment for everybody, an experience which neutralizes all travails and hazards undertaken to make the journey to these heights.
The site is conditioned by extreme climate. The temple was believed to have been first constructed by Adi Shankaracharya, who probably lived between 788 AD to 820 AD. Adi Shankaracharya expounded the Advaita Vedanta, a sub-school of Vedanta. The sanctum sanctorum is indeed an impressive stone edifice. Nobody ever could date that stone, despite several attempts. Adi Shankaracharya was also known as Shankara Bhagavatpadacharya, meaning one who taught at the feet of God. Later, Adi Shankaracharya was considered as the incarnation of Lord Shiva. Adi Shankaracharya attained his ‘samadhi’ (which is said to be “the highest level of concentrated meditation in which the mind becomes still and the body remains conscious”. According to Hinduism and Budhhism, this is the precursor of Nirvana. All his works were in Sanskrit, which eventually was the Devbhasha, and was remembered by the Samadhi behind the Kadareshwara’s temple.
The Kedarnarth Temple is kept open for six months a year from the end of April to beginning of November, that means from Vaishakha to Ashwin There is no specific clan of pujaris, (priests) to supervise and worship the Jyotirlinga there.
In the Hindu month of Kartik, Lord Shiva’s idol is brought out of the sanctum sanctorum and shifted to Urvi math, till the Hindu month of Chaitra. A burning lamp of ghee is kept in His altar. The ghee lamp is ritually known as ‘Nanda Deepak’. During this winter the Temple is closed for pilgrims. Pujas are performed at Urvi Math which is a comparatively pleasant clime. After winter, in the Hindu month of Vaisakh again when the Idol is shifted to His temple, the Nandan Deepak is still found burning. This Jyotirlinga is the only one of the twelve which is in snowy mountain temple. The wondrous lamp marvels the devotees, who feel blessed. Jyothirling is a burning light with great resplendence which symbolises the real Nature of the Almighty. It is a formless reality, which might take various forms at will, and Lord Shiva is believed to be living in the Jyotirlinga. It is also believed in Hindu tenets that Lord Shiva is the “Jyoti Swarupa” and is present in all Shivalingams. Of the 12 Jyothirling temples, two are on coastal areas such as Somnath in the Somnath Patan on Saurashtra Coast of Gujarat, Saurashtra in Gujarat and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu.
Three temples are located on river banks are Varanasi on the Ganga, Mahakaleshwara in Ujjain on the bank of the Kshipra and Tryambakeshwar Jyotirlinga Temple near Nasik on Goutami river bank in Maharashtra.
Four are in the heights of the mountains such as Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Mallikarjuna on the Sri Shailam mountain in Andhra Pradesh, Omkareshwar on the Mandhata mountain in Madhya Pradesh and Bhimashankar on the Sahyadri mountain from which originate Chandrabhaga river, also known as river Bhima which flows southwest and merges with Krishna river.
Three Jyotirlinga Temples are in meadows or villages. Such Temples of Lord Shiva are located at Nageshwar Jyotirlinga near Dwarka, Verul village in Aurangabad of Maharashtra state as Grishneshwar Temple, Baijnath Dham Temple at Deoghar of Santhal Parganas district of Jharkhand.
The Sanskirt Sloka which records the Holy Scripture reads as under:
“Saurashtre Somanathamcha Srisaile Mallikarjunam | Ujjayinya Mahakalam Omkaramamaleswaram || Paralyam Vaidyanathancha Dakinyam Bheema Shankaram Setu Bandhethu Ramesam, Nagesam Darukavane || Varanasyantu Vishwesam Tryambakam Gautameethate | Himalayetu Kedaaram, Ghrishnesamcha shivaalaye || Etani jyotirlingani, Saayam Praatab Patennarah | Sapta Janma Kritam papam, Smaranena Vinashyati ||
OTHER SITES TO VISIT
•Rudraprayag, 139 km from Rishikesh. It is the site of confluence of the Mandakini and Alakananda rivers.
•Sonprayag, 5 km before Gauri kund.
•Triyugi Narayan Temple, 12 km from Sonprayag. According to Scriptures Lord Shiva married Goddess parvati there.
•Vasuki Tal, about 6 km from Triguni Narayan Temple. The Vasuki Tal is at a height of 4,135 metres overlooking spectacular chaukhambs peak of Himalayas.
•Ukhimath, at a 62-km stretch on the Badrinath Temple road. Here there are some old temples and silver idol in one of them. The temple with the silver idol opens briefly and on special request. Later in the Dwapara Yuga, Lord Sri Krishna’s great grand-son Aniruddha was married Usha, daughter of Vanasur. This math is used during the winter sheltering the idols of Kedarnath Temple.
•Guptakashi. It is a site about 45 km south of Kedarnarth temple, where temples of Ardhnarishwara are situated. The spectacles of heights like Sumeru, Chaukhamba and Kedar dome can be seen from this place.
•Chorabari (Gandhi Sarovar). This site is about at a 2-km distance from Kedarnath Temple. The site has a fascinating water on which float large chunks of ice.
HOW TO REACH KEDARNATH
Normal track for visiting Kedarnath Heights is through other holy places like Rishikesh, Devprayag, Sonprayag, Triyugi Narayan, and Gauri Kund. Till Gauri Kund motorable journey could be arranged. There after it is a 14-km trek up the hills.
•To climb mules, dolis (swing carriages) and sticks are used
•There are thatched places on the track for taking rest.
•At Gauri Kund hot spring devotees can take their bath, before trekking up the mountainous stretch.
By Air
● Nearest airstrip is at Jolly Grant, Dehradun at 239 kms.
By Rail
•Nearest Railway station is at Rishikesh, 221 kms.
By Road
•Bus/taxi/Private Cars from Rishikesh, Kotdwar, Dehradun, Haridwar and other important hill stations of Garhwal and Kumaon regions.
PLACES TO STAY
•Tourist Rest House
•Saraf Cottage
•Modi Bhavan
•Kali Kamli Dharamshala
•Bhajan Ashram
•Bharat Seva Ashram
•Travellers Lodge
