The Panch Kedars of Shiva – Kedarnath

Lord Shiva is also worshiped as Kedarnath, the ‘Lord of Kedar Khand’ and hence the temple has been named Kedarnath. This ancient temple is said to be one of the divinest temple of lord Shiva and is located on the Garhwal Himalyan range, near Mandakini River. It is believed to be the highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.

The temple is believed to have been built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Shankaracharya in 8^th century. Climbing through large grey steps that lead to the holy shrine, we find inscriptions in Pali on the steps. The inner walls of the temple are decorated with scenes from mythology and statues of various Hindu gods. The first hall of the temple contains statues of Pandava brothers, Lord Krishna, Nandi (the vehicle of Shiva) and Vibhadra (one of the guards of Shiva).

According to Hindu mythology, during the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas killed their cousins and Vyas Rishi told the Pandavas that their sin can only be forgiven by Lord Shiva. On learning this, Pandavas left Kashi in search of Lord Shiva but Lord Shiva was hiding himself from them. Then Dharamraj said, “Oh Lord Shiva, you have hidden yourself from us but our sins would be washed away only after we take your Darshan. The place where you have hidden yourself would be known as Guptakashi (Rudraprayag) and would be a famous shrine”.

From Guptakashi, they headed towards Gaurikund, in the Himalyas. While searching for Lord Shiva, the Pandavas found a he-buffalo. Then Bheema went after the buffalo and started to pull the buffalo by its tail. In this tug-of-war, different parts of the buffalo went to different places and only the hind part was left in Kedar. On this part, a Jyotirlinga appeared and Lord Shiva appeared from the light. All the sins of Pandavas were absolved by getting Lord Shiva’s Darshan. Then the Lord told the Pandavas, “Form now on, I will remain here and all the devotees would get piety by taking a Darshana of Kedarnath”.

A triangular shaped rock is worshipped in Garbhagriha of the temple. The temple stands on a highland fenced by snow covered mountain and glaciers. A Nandi statue is carved out of rock in front of the temple. It is also said that Nar-Narayan went to Badrika village and started worshipping Lord Shiva. When Shiva appeared before them, they wished that Shiva should remain here for the welfare of humanity. Accepting their wish, Mahadev himself stayed here as a Jyoti. Here, he is known as Kedareshwara.

The Panch Kedars of Shiva – Tungnath Temple

Shiva is the lord of lords and is the third member of Hindu Trinity. Temples of Shiva are situated all over the world and one of such temples is Tungnath which is one of the five and highest Panch Kedar temples of Lord Shiva.  Located at an altitude of 3680 m above the ground, this temple is said to be the highest temple of Lord Shiva in the world.

As per the legend, the myth of Tungnath is associated with the Panch Kedar temples of Shiva which were built by Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata epic. According to Hindu mythology, Vyas Rishi, the scribe of both the Vedas and Puranas, advised the Pandavas that they were culpable of killing their cousins (Kauravas) in the Kurukshetra war (Mahabharata) and their iniquity can only be forgiven by Lord Shiva. Accordingly, the Pandavas went in search of Shiva but he was avoiding them because he was persuaded with the guilty of Pandavas. In order to evade from Pandavas, Shiva took the form of bull and went into the ground, which is now known as Guptakashi. Later, the parts of bull were found on five different locations which are now known as Panch Kedars where Pandavas built temples of Lord Shiva. It is being said that thighs of the bull were seen at Tungnath where Arjuna, the third brother of Pandavas, built a temple and worshiped here.

Tungnath temple was found by guru Shankaracharya and is said to be 1000 years old. The structure of this temple is built in North Indian style and is very small in size. The holy visit of temple demands a steep trek of 4 KM from Chopta. It is also being said that Ravana performed penance at this place in order to please Lord Shiva.