Know the 12 Jyotirlingas - Kedarnath Temple

New Delhi: Among the other twelve JyotirLingas of Lord Shiva the one at Kedarnath is located near the Mandakini rive in the snow-covered area of the Garhwal Himalayan range ( Known as Rudra Himalayas) at an altitude of 3,583 m (11,755 ft) above sea level.It is as one of the the best known Shivastalams in India and is one of the most sacred pilgrimage centers of the country. The temple can be visited only during six months in a year (between the end of April (Akshay tritiya) to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon, usually November). During other months, it is inaccessible due to extreme weather conditions.It is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva and is rich in legend and tradition. The deities from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath during the winters and worshipped there for six months. Here Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the 'Lord of Kedar Khand', the historical name of the region.It is accessible only by foot and has to be reached by a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony and manchan service is also available.It is believed that the Kedarnath Temple was built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharya. Pandavas were supposed to have pleased Lord Shiva by doing tapasya (penance) in Kedarnath. The temple is also one of the four major sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas.Facts depict the Kedarnath Temple is 6000 years old and is the highest ( 12000 feet ) among the 12 jyotirlinga Shiva temples.Lord Shiva manifested here in the form of Jyotirlingam. It is built over a large rectangular platform of massive stone slabs. The presiding temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya. The inner walls of the temple sanctum is beautifully sculptured and are adorned with figures of various deities and scenes from mythology. A large statue of the Nandi Bull is there. It stands as guard outside the temple door. A conical rock formation inside the temple is worshipped as Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form. It is surrounded by grassy meadows covering the valleys and by lofty, snow-covered mountains making the shrine of Kedarnath scenically placed.There are several places of pilgrimage between Rudraprayag and Kedarnath such as Kashi Vishwanath at Guptakashi, Agastyamuni, Trijugi Narayan (7 km (4 mi) from Son Prayag, Where Lord Shankar got married to Goddess), Maa Kali at Kalimath, Parwati from when the fire of hawan kund is still alive), Ukhimath, Phauli- Pasalat Devi Maa, Bamsu (Lamgoundi) Vanasur, Maa Jwalamukhi Devi village Andarwari The Rudra Himalaya is also known as the Pancha Parvati as it has five peaks which are Rudra Himalaya, Vishnupuri, Bhramapuri, Udgari-Kanth and Swargarohini. It is believed that four of the Pandavas died on the last of these peaks. It is said that Maa Parvati worshipped Kedareshwar to be united with Lord Shiva as her Ardhanareeswar. (half male, half female figure)Recently Kedarnath area was worst affected in the June 2013 flash floods. The temple complex, surrounding areas and Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but the temple remained unharmed to a large extent because of a huge rock which fell close to the shrine and stopped the 24-feet high flood column from devastating the shrine. Read More.......India's 12 famous Jyotirlingas - the towers of light of Lord ShivaShravani Mela: Vaidyanath JyotirlingaSwayambhu Jyotirlinga - The Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, MPKnow interesting facts about Somnath temple, one of the 12 JyotirlingasIndia's 12 famous Jyotirlingas : Kashi Vishwanath Temple