Kedarnath Yatra

“Kedarnath” temple is devoted to lord “Shiva”. It means “Lord of the fields”. This temple holds a great importance for Shaivite sect. It’s the first amongst “Panch (five) Kedar” temples. Namely Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar & Kalpeshwar. “Kedarnath temple” is also part of “Chota char dham” which comprises of Badrinath, Gangotri & Yamunotri. It is also a part of twelve Jyotirlingas which are all across the India. All “Panch Kedar” temples are located in Garhwal Himalayas. Location of these temples are given in map below.

History of temple:

Pandavas defeated their cousins Kauravas in the epic war of Mahabharata. But, at the cost of killing the gotra & brahmanas. For self-mortification they left their kingdom & went in search of lord Shiva. First they reached Varanasi or Kashi which is one of the favourite city of Shiva. But,  Shiva was deeply hurt by dishonesty of Kurushtetra war so, he was insensative to Pandavas prayers. He assumed the form of Bull (Nandi) & disappeared in Garhwal Himalayas. When Pandavas reached Garhwal region Bhima one of the five Pandavas saw the Nandi in “Guptkashi” region. “Guptkashi” means hidden kashi or Shiva. Bhima understood that Shiva is the in the form of Bull & hurried to catch him. During this event Bull disappeared in ground & reappeared in parts in various regions of Garhwal Himalayas namely, hump at Kedarnath, arm at Tungnath, face at Rudranath, nabhi or naval at Madhyamaheshwar & hair at Kalpeshwar.