Kedarnath Adventure
Kedarnath temple is one of the sacred pilgrimage in northern India, located on the bank of Mandakini river at an altitude of 3584 meters above sea level. The historical name of this region is "KedarKhand".Kedarnath temple is a part of Char Dhams and Panch Kedar in Uttarakhand and one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in India.
During the winters, the vigraha from Kedarnath temple is carried down to Ukhimath where the deity is worshiped for the next six months. Kedarnath is seen as a homogenous form of Shiva, the 'Lord of Kedarnath', the historical name of the region.
History and legends of origin
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 Pnach Kedar temple are narrated.
The temple
The presiding image of kedarnath in the form of lingam os of irregular shape with a pedestal 3.6m (12ft) in circumference and 3.6m (12ft) in height. There is a small pillared hall in front of the temple, that has images of Parvati and of five Pandava princes. There are five temples around kedarnath itself, namely- Tnganth, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar and kalpeshwar which from the Panch Kedar pilgrimage sites. The first hall inside Kedarnath Temple contains statues of the five Pandava brothers , Krishna, Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva and Virabhadra, one of the guards of Shiva.
