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 8th 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.
