| Kedarnath Temple | |
|---|---|
Kedarnath Jyotirliṅga | |
 Kedarnath Temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Rudraprayag |
| Deity | Śiva |
| Festivals | Maha Shivaratri |
| Governing body | Śrī Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee |
| Location | |
| Location | Kedarnath |
| State | Uttarakhand |
| Country |  India |
  Location in Uttarakhand | |
| Coordinates | 30°44′6.7″N79°4′0.9″E / 30.735194°N 79.066917°E /30.735194; 79.066917 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | North-Indian Himalayan Architecture |
| Elevation | 3,583 m (11,755 ft) |
| Website | |
| badrinath-kedarnath | |
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Kēdāranātha Temple (Sanskrit: केदारनाथ मंदिर,IAST:Kēdāranātha Mandira,lit. 'temple of the God of the field') is aHindu temple, one of the twelvejyotirlinga ofŚiva. The temple is located on the GarhwalHimalayan range[1] near theMandākinī river, in the state ofUttarakhand, India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open to the general public only between the months of April (Akṣaya Tritiya) and November (Kārtika Pūrṇimā, the autumn full moon). During the winters, thevigraha (deity) of the temple is carried down toUkhimath to beworshiped for the next six months. Kēdāranātha is seen as a homogeneous form ofŚiva, the 'Lord of Kēdārakhaṇḍa', the historical name of the region.[2][3]
The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 17 kilometres (11 mi) uphill trek fromGaurikuṇḍa. According toHindu legends, the temple was initially built by thePāṇḍavas, and is one of the twelveJyotirlingas, the holiest Hindushrines of Śiva.[1] The Pāṇḍava were supposed to have pleased Śiva by doing penance inKēdāranātha.[1][4] The temple is one of the four major sites in India'sChota Char Dhampilgrimage of Northern Himalayas and is the first of thePañca Kēdāra pilgrimage sites. This temple is the highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas.[5] It is one of the 275paadal petra sthalams expounded in theTēvaram. This temple is sung of byTirugnāṇasambandar,Appar,Sundarar andSekkizhar in theirTēvaram texts.[6]
Kēdāranātha was the worst affected area during the2013 flash floods in North India. The temple complex, surrounding areas, and Kēdāranātha town suffered extensive damage, but the temple structure did not suffer any major damage. A large rock among thedebris acted as a barrier, protecting the temple from the flood.[7]
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 wordskedara ("field") andnatha ("lord"). The textKashi Kedara Mahatmya states that it is so called because "the crop ofliberation" grows here.[8]
At a height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), 223 km (139 mi) fromRishikesh, on the shores ofMandakini river, a tributary ofGanga, is a stone edifice of unknown date.[9] One of the earliest references to Kedarnath occurs in theSkanda Purana (c. 7th-8th century), which contains a story describing the origin of theGanges river. The text names Kedara (Kedarnath) as the place where Shiva released the holy water from his matted hair.[10]
According to thehagiographies based on Madhava'sSankshepa-shankara-vijaya, the 8th century philosopherAdi Shankara died at the mountains near Kedarnath; although other hagiographies, based on Anandagiri'sPrachina-Shankara-Vijaya, state that he died atKanchipuram. The ruins of a monument marking the purported death place of Shankara are located at Kedarnath.[11] Kedarnath was definitely a prominent pilgrimage centre by the 12th century, when it is mentioned inKritya-kalpataru written by theGahadavala minister Bhatta Lakshmidhara.[12] Adi Shankara was believed to have revived this temple, along with Badrinath and other temples of Uttarakhand; he is believed to have attained Mahasamadhi at Kedarnath.
[13]The Kedarnath valley, along with other regions ofUttarakhand, experiencedcatastrophic flash floods on 16 and 17 June 2013.[14] On 16 June, at about 7:30 p.m. a landslide and mudslides occurred near Kedarnath Temple with loud peals of thunder.[15] An enormously loud peal was heard and huge amounts of water started gushing from Chorabari Tal or Gandhi Tal down Mandakini river at about 8:30 p.m. washing everything away in its path. On 17 June 2013 at about 6:40 a.m. waters again started cascading at a huge speed from river Swaraswati and Chorabari Tal or Gandhi Tal bringing along with its flow huge amount of silt, rocks, and boulders.[15] A huge rock got stuck behind Kedarnath Temple and protected it from the ravages of the flood. The waters gushed on both the sides of the temple destroying everything in their path. Even eyewitness observed that one large rock got carried to the rear side of Kedarnath Temple, thus causing obstruction to the debris, diverting the flow of river anddebris to the sides of the temple avoiding damage. The rock which protected the temple is worshipped as the God's Rock (भीम शीला).[16]
Another theory for the temple not being destroyed is because of its construction.[17][18][19][20] Although the temple withstood the severity of the floods, the complex and surrounding area were destroyed, resulting in the death of hundreds of pilgrims and locals. Shops and hotels in Kedarnath were destroyed and all roads were broken. People took shelter inside the temple for several hours, until theIndian Army airlifted them to safer places.[21] The UttarakhandChief Minister announced that the Kedarnath shrine would remain closed for a year for clearing the debris.
The experts appointed by theArchaeological Survey of India to assess the condition of the temple's foundation in the wake of the floods concluded that the structure was not in danger.[22] A team from theIndian Institute of Technology Madras visited the temple three times for this purpose.[22] Non-destructive testing instruments that do not disturb the structure of the temple were used by the IIT-team for assessing the health of the structure, foundation, and walls. They have submitted their interim report that the temple is stable and there was no major danger.[23][24]
Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) was given the responsibility of rebuilding Kedarnath. Although the institute did not have the expertise in urban planning or construction, they mastered in high altitude training. Under the leadership of veteran mountaineer ColonelAjay Kothiyal, NIM worked intensively for a year, enabling the resumption of the pilgrimage the following year.[25] For the 2026 season, the local administration has introduced further infrastructure safety measures and expanded the pilgrim waiting areas to ensure a smooth yatra experience.[26]
TheMahabharata, which gives the account of the Pandavas and the Kurukshetra War, does not mention a place called Kedarnath.[10] However, a folk legend associates Kedarnath with the Pandavas, the protagonists of the Hindu epic. According to the legend, the Pandavas sought to atone for the sins committed during theKurukshetra war. They handed over the reins of their kingdom to their relatives and left in search of Shiva to seek his blessings. However, Shiva wished to avoid them and assumed the form of a bull (Nandi).Bhima, the second of the five Pandava brothers, later saw the bull grazing nearGuptakashi, a name meaning "hidden Kashi" that is derived from the hiding act of Shiva. Bhima immediately recognized the bull as Shiva and seized the bull by its tail and hind legs. Shiva in the form of the bull, then disappeared into the ground and later reappeared in parts: with the hump raising in Kedarnath, the arms appearing inTungnath, the face showing up atRudranath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing inMadhyamaheshwar and the hair appearing inKalpeshwar. The Pandavas, pleased by this manifestation in five different forms, built temples at each site to venerate Shiva. These five shrines are collectively known as Panch Kedar.[1][27][28]
After constructing the Panch Kedar temples, the Pandavas meditated at Kedarnath in pursuit of salvation and performed ayagna (fire sacrifice). They then ascended to heaven along the celestial path known as theMahapanth, also calledSwargarohini. The Panch Kedar Temples are constructed in the North-Indian Himalayan Temple architecture with the temples at Kedarnath, Tungnath and Madhyamaheshwar sharing similar designs.[29]
A variant of the tale credits Bhima for not only catching the bull but also stopping it from disappearing. Consequently, the bull was torn asunder into five parts and appeared at five locations in the Kedar Khand of Garhwal region of the Himalayas.[27]
After completing the pilgrimage of Shiva'sdarshan at the Panch Kedar Temples, it is an unwritten religious rite to visitVishnu at theBadrinath Temple, as a final affirmatory proof by the devotee that he has sought blessings of Shiva.[30]
Kedarnath is situated in the Garhwal Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, at an elevation of approximately 3,583 meters (11,755 feet) above sea level.[31]
The presiding image of Kedarnath in the form oflingam is more triangular in shape with a pedestal 3.6 m (12 ft) in circumference and 3.6 m (12 ft) in height.[32] There is a small pillared hall in front of the temple, that has images ofParvati and of the five Pandava princes. There are four temples around Kedarnath itself, namely-Tungnath,Rudranath,Madhyamaheshwar, andKalpeshwar which form the Panch Kedar pilgrimage sites.[33] The first hall inside Kedarnath Temple contains statues of the five Pandava brothers,Krishna, Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva andVirabhadra, one of the guards of Shiva.[34] Statues ofDraupadi and other deities are also installed in the main hall.[2] An unusual feature of the temple is the head of a man carved in the triangular stone lingam. Such a head is seen carved in another temple nearby constructed on the site where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati was held. Behind the temple is thesamādhi mandir ofAdi Sankara.[35][36]
The Kedarnath Temple is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, who is worshipped locally under the name Kedarnath.[37] The name is derived from Sanskrit, with "Kedarnath" (also rendered as Kedaranatha or Kedareshvara) meaning "Lord of the Marshy Ground". The site is regarded as adham, a term denoting a particularly sacred abode of a deity.[37] The presence of Shiva at Kedarnath is believed to besvayambhu (self-manifested), indicating that the deity's form is naturally occurring rather than sculpted by human hands.[37]Bhukund Bhairavnath is the guardian deity,kul-devta, associated with the Kedarnath Temple. His open-air shrine is situated on a ridge overlooking the main temple complex.[37]
The head priest (Raval) of the Kedarnath temple belongs to theVeerashaiva community from Karnataka.[21] However, unlike in Badrinath temple, the Raval of Kedarnath temple does not perform the pujas. The pujas are carried out by Raval's assistants on his instructions.[38] The Raval moves with the deity to Ukhimath during the winter season. There are five main priests for the temple, and they become head priests for one year by rotation. The present (2013) Raval of Kedarnath temple is Shri Vageesha Lingacharya from Davanagere district, Karnataka.[21] Surrounding Kedarnath, there are many symbols of the Pandavas. Raja Pandu died at Pandukeshwar. The locals here perform a dance called "Pandav Lila".[39] The mountain top where the Pandavas went to Swarga, is known as "Swargarohini", which is located offBadrinath. WhenYudhishtira, the eldest of the Pandavas, was leaving for the heaven (Swarg), one of his fingers fell on the earth. At that place, Yudhishtira installed a Shiva Linga, which is the size of the thumb. To gain Mashisharupa, Lord Shiva and Bheema fought with maces. Bheema was struck with remorse. He started to massage Shiva's body with ghee. In memory of this event, even today, this triangular Shiva lingam is massaged with ghee.[32]
Kedarnath Teerth Purohits are the ancient Brahmins of this region, their ancestors (Rishi-Muni) have been worshiping the lingam since the time ofNara-Narayana and Daksh Prajapati. King Janmejay, grandson of the Pandavas, gave them the right of worshiping this temple and donate the whole Kedar region, and they have been worshiping pilgrims ever since. Due to reciting Shukla Yajurveda or Bajsen Samhita, these people are called Shukla or Bajpai, being the followers of Madhyandin branch of Shukla Yajurveda, their gotra is Shandilya, Upmanyu, Dhoumya, etc. Since the time of Guru Shankaracharya Ji, the Rawals (priests of the Jangam community from South India) and the local Jamloki brahmins (Narayan's priest) of kedar vally worship the Shiv Linga in the temple, while the puja on behalf of the pilgrims is done by these Tirtha Purohit Brahmins.[8][10][11]
According to a tradition recorded by the English mountaineerEric Shipton (1926), "many hundreds of years ago" one priest used to hold services at both the Kedarnath andBadrinath temples,[40] travelling between the two places daily.[41]
The temple was included in the Uttar Pradesh State Government Act No. 30/1948 as Act no. 16,1939, which came to be known as Shri Badarinath and Shri Kedarnath Mandir Act. The committee nominated by the state government administers both temples. The act was modified in 2002 by the Uttarakhand State Government, which provisioned adding additional committee members including government officials and a vice-chairman.[42] There are a total of seventeen members in the board; three selected by theUttarakhand Legislative Assembly, one member each selected by theDistrict Councils ofChamoli,Pauri Garhwal,Tehri Garhwal andUttarkashi districts, and ten members nominated by theGovernment of Uttarakhand.[43] On the religious side, there is a Rawal (chief priest) and three other priests: Naib Rawal, Acharya/Dharmadhikari and Vedpathi.[44] The administrative structure of the temple consists of a chief executive officer who executes the orders from the state government. A deputy chief executive officer, two OSDs, an executive officer, an account officer, a temple officer, and a publicity officer assist the chief executive officer.[45]
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