The Kedarnath Temple is a Hindu shrine located in Uttarakhand. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is considered to be one of the twelve ‘Jyotirlingas.,’
The temple is said to be over 1000 years old and was built by Pandavas during the Hindu epic period of Mahabharata. The temple is situated at an altitude of 3,583 meters above sea level and is surrounded by the peaks of the Himalayas.
The temple is built in the traditional North Indian style of architecture and is made of massive stone slabs. It has a conical roof that is topped with a gold-plated pinnacle.To reach the temple, one has to undertake a 14 km trek from Gaurikund.
The Kedarnath Temple is one of the four shrines that form the Char Dham Yatra, which is considered to be one of the holiest pilgrimage journeys in Hinduism. The other three shrines are Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri.
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The temple remains open from April to November and is closed for the rest of the year due to heavy snowfall in the region. The temple performs five pujas (offerings) each day, with the first puja starting at 5:00 am and the last puja at 9:00 pm.
There is a popular legend associated with the temple that says that Lord Shiva, upon being pursued by the Pandavas, took refuge in the form of a bull at Kedarnath. The Pandavas finally caught up with him and managed to capture him by grabbing his hump, which turned into stone. This stone is now worshipped at the temple as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.
The temple is situated on the banks of the Mandakini River, which is considered to be sacred in Hinduism.
The temple of Kedarnath is a part of Panch Kedar. The other dhams are – Tungnath (where the hands of Lord Shiva Fell), Rudranath (Face of Lord Shiva Fell), Madhyamaheshwar (where the stomach of Lord Shiva fell) and Kalpeshwar (where the Locks of lord Shiva fell).
One of the most interesting facts about Kedarnath Temple is that its main pujari or priest is not from North India, but actually hails from Karnataka.
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