Kedarnath Temple is a Hindu temple roughly 1200 years old dedicated to Shiva. The temple is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river,
About Kedarnath Temple
Standing magnificently at an altitude of 3,580mts and enveloped in the mighty Garhwal Himalayas, the Kedarnath Temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. Kedarnath forms one of the four sites of the Chota Char Dham Pilgrimage.
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Kedarnath Temple is among the 275 temples of Paadal Petra Sthalams (the most powerful Shiva temples in the world) and is also the most important among the Panch Kedars
Kedarnath Temple is the most revered shrine of Hindu deity Lord Shiva. The present Kedarnath Mandir was built in 8th century A.D. by Adi Shankaracharya and it is adjacent to the site of an earlier temple built by the Pandavas. Adi Shankaracharya built and restored the glory of Kedarnath Temple as one of 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The Kedarnath Temple is dated more than 1200 years old.
History and legends of Origin
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.
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 slew 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.