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Kedarnath temple is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located atop the Garhwal Himalayan range near the river Mandakini in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April to start of November. The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 14 km uphill trek from Gaurikund. The temple is believed to have been built by Adi Sankaracharya [1] and is one of the twelve Jyothirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Lord Shiva. The temple is also one of the four major sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage.
[edit] Temple and significance
The actual temple is an impressive stone edifice of unknown date.An unusual feature of the temple is the the head of a man carved in the triangular stone fascia of the temple.Such a head is seen carved in another temple nearby,namely,the temple constructed on the site of Marriage of Shiva and Parvati. No specific family of pujaris supervises rituals at Kedarnath, which focus around veneration of the stone lingam that rests in the inner sanctum of the temple. Behind the temple is the samadhi mandir of Adi Sankara.[2]
Tamil saints Nayanars of 1st century like Sundarar and sambanthar praised the deity in their hyms tevaram
[edit] References
- ^ Kedarnath.
- ^ Uttarakhand government website. Retrieved on April 2007.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
