After trekking 20km uphill, one reaches the auspicious Shiva temple, Shri Kedarnath Dham perched at an altitude of 3553 meters. Being a part of chardham Yatra, Shri Kedarnath Dham witnesses many devotees paying their visiting to this pious temple to seek blessing of Bholenath. The Dham is situated along the banks of river Mandakini, it was discovered by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century, thereby forming part of Chota Chardham tour along with Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri Dham. As the legend speaks, Pandavas had constructed the Kedarnath temple which was later restructured by Adi Shankaracharya. The word Kedarnath, means ‘The lord of the field’, which is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Kedara’ meaning field and ‘Nath’ meaning ‘Lord’. In the ancient text of Kashi Kedara Mahatmya, it has been referred that the Kedarnathis are called so as ‘the crop of liberation’ grows in this land. The geologists claim that while the temple has stood the test of time of about more than 1000 years old, it was only in the little Ice Age (1300 – 1900 AD) that the Shri Kedarnath Dham was surrounded by snow and further claimed that the temple was submerged under glacier for minimum of 400 years.
Pooja Vidhi and Interesting facts about the temple:
The date of opening of Shri Kedarnath Dham is declared post performing puja on Basant Panchami, in 2021 (this year), the Kapat opening for this Chardham tour temple is on 18 May 2021. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, it is one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in India and the highest among all. The puja ceremonies can now be pre-booked online and there is a consolidated list of all the ceremonies/rituals that can be performed with or without the presence of the devotee and it can be accordingly chosen by the pilgrim. The temple is divided into two parts- Garbha Griha and a Mandapa.
Garbha Griha, is the sanctum sanctorum where the conical rock formation is placed which is worshiped as this is dedicated to worship and Mandapa is the place for assemblies of the devotees. Unlike Badrinath where the Rawal or the head priest performs every puja, in Shri Kedarnath Dham there are five main priests who become head priest or Rawal for one year by rotation, who’s assistant performs the rituals and ceremony. The Rawals of Shri Kedarnath Dham belong to Veerashaiva community from Karnataka. The daily pooja rituals at the Shri Kedarnath Dham start early morning, around 0400 Hours with Maha Abhishek and ends around 1900 Hours with the Shyan aarti. The temple opens for darshan for the general public 0600Hours and there is an afternoon recess between 1500 – 1700 Hours. The public timing for darshan at Kedarnath temple ends at 1900Hours. However after 1700 Hours no one can touch the idol when it is dressed in Emperor Costume. The enshrining Jyotirlinga of Shiva opens for six months between when the sun enters the zodiac of Aries to the zodiac of Scorpio i.e. April to November. There is also a Holy Statue of Lord Shiva inside the temple, which is the portable manifestation (Utsavar) of the Lord. The Rawal, move the deity to Ukhimath during the winters.
As per the legend, Pandavas after winning the war against the Kauravas, felt guilty and went to seek blessings from Lord Shiva to atone the sins of killing men during war. However, Lord Shiva escaped them repeatedly and while fleeing from them, he took refuge at Kedarnath in form of a buffalo, and still when the Pandavas followed him continuously he dived in the ground to the exact spot where the holy sanctum today present, leaving a hump on the floor, which is now visible. This Hump inside the temple is in the form of a conical rock formation and is worshipped as Lord Shiva manifested in his Sadashiva form. The original temple was built by the Pandavas, however later when Adi Shankaracharya rebuilt the new temple just by the original temple.
This ashlar style of temple, wherein the stone slabs are interlocked into each other without the use of mortar or cement. This in itself is a remarkable achievement as to how in those times such big stone slabs were moved and interlocked to create an architectural marvel.
Places to see around:
There are other places of interest that interests not only the devotees but also the adventure travel lovers. The starting point to Shri Kedarnath Dham is the hot water spring of Gaurikund dedicated to Goddess Parvati, which is approximately perched at 6000ft. Chorabari Lake is another place, which is approximately 3km from Kedarnath and an easy trek with full of scenic beauty all around. It is believed that the lake formed due to the melting of the glacier over a period of time. It is also known as Gandhi Sarovar or Gandhi Tal, since some of the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were spread here. One can also visit the Bhairava Temple and the Madhu Ganga Waterfall. Most popular destination here after Shri Kedarnath dham is the Shankaracharya Samadhi, which is just behind the holy place. Triyuginarayan Temple, the Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi temple which is another place of interest that is visited by devotees. An annual fair is held every year at the temple during the months of August and September, and is a vibrant affair. Situated at an altitude of 4,150 m above sea level is the Vasuki Lake serene lake offers spectacular views of the Chaukhamba peaks and the Mandakini valley. A continuous ascent from Kedarnath to Vasuki Tal or Vasuki Lake makes for a great trek. Trekking to the lake from Gaurikund can be a bit of a task for first-time trekkers.
Where to stay?
Uttarakhand Tourism has its guest house at Kedarnath, which can be a convenient option for accommodation. There are plenty of other options for accommodation as the inflow of devotees during season is continuous, and for every budget the stays can be booked, from hotels, guest houses to Dharamshalas.
How to Reach?
There are many ways to reach Gaurikund, the village is well connected with all the towns of Uttarakhand, however the final lapse of 16km is a trek to Shri Kedarnath Dham. Travelers coming from outside Uttarakhand may opt to take flight till Dehradun and drive to Kedarnath. If one wishes to travel by rail, then the train can be boarded till Rishikesh and then drive through. The alternate mode of communication is through bus/cab, one can take multiple or direct cab to Guptkashi and then again take a cab/bus to Gaurikund. Tourists/devotees can take ponies to help themselves through the steep trek to the temple along with porters to carry the luggage.
