Lord Shiva Temple At Kedarnath in Himalayas –A Hindu Pilgrimage

All the worshippers of Lord Shiva have a hearty desire to visit lord Shiva temple at Kedarnath in the Himalaya Mountains. Kedarnath is one of the places of pilgrimage among the famous four dham pilgrimage. Kedarnath is one of the twelve swayambhoo Jyotirlingams of lord Shiva. The pilgrimage to Kedarnath is the most difficult out of the 4 dham pilgrimage. It is also situated at the highest level of 11600 feet from the mean sea level, considering all the four dhams in Himalayas. The pilgrimage to Kedarnath remains open only in summer months of May to October.

There are around 100 stone steps to climb prior to entering inside the temple. There are statues of Lord Shree Krishna, Pandavas, and Ganesh. This temple is thousands of years old and Pandavas had gone to Himalayas via this temple. The story goes as Pandavas could not find lord Shiva in the Kedarnath in spite of many efforts. Finally, they found lord Shiva in the form of one buffalo among the crowd of buffalos. Bheema, strongest of Pandavas, got hold of this particular buffalo after lot of fight. During this fight, the back of the buffalo remained here at Kedarnath and the head went to Katmandu in Nepal. This is the reason the shape of the lingam of Shiva here at Kedarnath is not in standard elliptical shape but is in shape of the back of buffalo and is dark red in color. This temple was built by the King Janmejay, son of the King Pareekshit, before around 5000 years from solid rocks. The appearance of the temple also indicates that the temple is really very old. You can go up to the Shiva Lingam and can perform puja very close to the Shiva Lingam. The morning puja time is 4.30 am. It is really challenging to take bath in the River Mandakini at this hour prior to performing the puja. There is generally a night halt given here by all the travel companies in order to enjoy the real hilly beauty of Himalayan Mountains around Kedarnath. 

Thus Kedarnath is the most important Lord Shiva temple in the entire world is a real beauty among the Hindu pilgrimage places.