🛕 Kedarnath – Complete Travel Guide to the Sacred Temple of Uttarakhand
More About Kedarnath
Kedarnath Temple is one of the most sacred Hindu pilgrimage sites in India. Located in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, Kedarnath sits at an altitude of about 3,583 meters (11,755 feet) above sea level in the majestic Himalayas. Surrounded by snow-covered peaks and the beautiful Mandakini River, Kedarnath offers a spiritual as well as adventurous experience.
It is one of the four holy sites in the famous Char Dham Yatra of Uttarakhand and also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in India. Every year, lakhs of devotees and tourists visit Kedarnath to seek blessings and witness the divine beauty of the Himalayas.
Kedarnath Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. According to Hindu mythology, after the Kurukshetra war, the Pandavas sought forgiveness from Lord Shiva for killing their relatives. Shiva, avoiding them, took the form of a bull and hid in the Himalayas. When the Pandavas tried to catch him, the bull dived into the ground, leaving behind its hump. That hump is worshipped in Kedarnath as a Shiva Lingam.
The temple is believed to have been originally built by the Pandavas and later revived by the great Hindu philosopher Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century. Behind the temple lies the samadhi (memorial shrine) of Adi Shankaracharya, who is said to have attained moksha here.
The temple’s ancient stone architecture, built without modern cement, has stood strong for centuries, even surviving the devastating 2013 floods in Uttarakhand.
