Kedarnath Temple Kedarnath Uttarakhand

The famous Kedarnath Temple is located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of India and the holy four dhams of Uttarakhand. This holy place is situated in the lap of the Himalayas at an elevation of about 3585 meters above sea level. This sacred temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, Lord Shiva is worshipped here as a natural Shivling.

This holy and ancient temple was built by Adi Guru Shankaracharya at the beginning of the 8th century. This famous temple is more than a thousand years old, this temple is made of stones of the big rectangles. This is a sacred religious temple. This Temple is completely surrounded by snowy peaks and beautiful mountains.

Every year devotees of Lord Shiva travel to this holy temple. The amazing beauty of the Kedarnath Dham attracts many tourists from around the world. It is the most famous of the Panch Kedars of Uttarakhand state. This is the largest Shiva temple in Uttarakhand. This temple is made up of about 6 feet high. Its adytum is ancient, which is considered to be around the 80th century. Within the temple, from the darshan of Shivling, salvation from all sins is attained. The priest of temple is the Jangam Brahmin of Mysore.

There is an interesting story of the appear of Shivling of Kedarnath Dham. On the Kedar Mountain of the Himalayas, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the ascetic Nar and Narayan sages used to do penance. Lord Shiva appeared pleased with his penance and according to his prayer, in the form of Shivalinga, the boon of always stay was provided.

According to legends, Mahabharata's hero Pandav wanted to wash his sins by killing his brothers during a great war, so he went to seek blessings from Lord Shiva, on the instructions of Lord Krishna. Pandavas went to Kashi for the blessings of Lord Shiva, but Lord Shiva did not meet there.

They people go to the Himalayas while searching Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva did not want to meet them, so they settled in Kedar and Lord Shiva concealed himself as a bull and meet among the other animals. The Pandavas had doubted that Lord Shiva is present in the flock of these animals. Then Bhima took his huge form and spread the legs on two hills. All the other animals came out, but Lord Shiva was not ready to go under the feet by holding the form of a bull.

Then Bhima swept the bull with his full force, but the bull began to meditation in the ground. Bhima grabbed the back part of the bull. Lord Shiva was pleased to see the devotion of the Pandavas, the resolute resolution. He immediately gave darshan and liberated the Pandavas. From that moment onwards, in the form of the 'Shape-Pind' of the back of Lord Shiva bull is worshipped in Kedarnath Dham.