Introduction

The most revered temple in India is Kedarnath, dedicated to lord shiva which is one of the most sacred hindu shrines located in the Garhwal Himalayas in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand in India. Kedarnath Temple is one of Char Dham Yatra of uttarakhand. Millions of devotees visit every year to Kedarnath to take darshan of Lord Shiva. This temple is situated at an altitude of 3583 meters from the Mandakini River, and to reach Kedarnath temple you have to complete a 16 km trek from Gaurikund which is the one and only road way to reach Kedarnath Temple. This temple is believed to be 1200 years old and has many mysterious facts. You will be amazed to know 6 Amazing facts about kedarnath Temple which we will cover in this blog.

Fact 1: The Legend of Its Origin

The Temple’s history has a rich and fascinating history deeply rooted to Hindu mythology and spiritual significance. This is believed to be by legends that Kedarnath Temple has been established by the Pandavas from the Mahabharata. Pandavas sought forgiveness from Lord Shiva after the Great War of Kurukshetra for their sins committed during the war. Lord shiva wanted to avoid them and then they turned into the Bull (Nandi) to hide himself in the Himalayas, but Pandavas successful to discover him then shiva try to disappeared in ground but Bhima managed to catch and hold of his Hump, in today’s that place known as Kedarnath Temple and remaining body parts of lord Shiva’s body are said to have reappeared at other location which is known as the Panch Kedar.

Fact 2: The Mysterious Lingam

There is unique triangular-shaped Shiva lingam worshiped in Kedarnath temple, according to legend that triangular-shaped Shiva lingam is a Hump of Nandi (Bull) as lord shiva was transformed into Bull to hide from Pandavaas, that's why it is believed to be this Shiva lingam was the part of Nandi. It is also believed to be that this triangular- shaped shiva linga is Swayambhu (Self-manifested) because pandavas griped five body parts of nandi and this triangular-shaped Shiva Lingam was one of them which is hump, when the nandi tried get relief from their grip then his five parts gets broken and self manifested in different locations

Fact 3: It’s Only Open for 6 Months a Year

India has a lot of temples which open the whole year but the kedarnath opens for only six months April to November due to extreme himalayan weather conditions. Kedarnath Temple situated at an altitude of 3583 meters, due to extreme snowfall at an altitude of 3583 meters it is impossible to reach kedarnath temple for people. That's why Kedarnath Temple closes for 6 months in the winter season. Before closing Kedarnath temple, the idol of Kedarnath Temple shifted to Ukhimath temple by carrying in a Palki, where worship continued for the next 6 months.

Fact 4: The Temple’s Extreme Whether Survival

Lets date back to 2013 when Uttarakhand has witnessed the most horrific unpredictable flood in which a lot of people were found dead, injured and lost and the surrounding area of Kedarnath was devastated but the temple didn't get a single scratch because of Bhima Shila. Dhari Devi temple is known to be the protector of Chota Char Dham. Kedarnath is closed every year from november to april in winter season due to heavy snowfall, during heavy snowfall in harsh winter season every year Kedarnath temple withstand 6 months without any damage miracly.

Fact 5: No Direct road Access

To reach Kedarnath there are some options such as- By Helicopter, Railway route and Road to road. Helicopters are very costly and Railway routes are struggleful and road to road route is one of the best routes to enjoy the creativity of nature but there is no road to road route to reach kedarnath temple directly, Gaurikund is the last route where vehicles can go. To reach Kedarnath Temple you have to complete a 16 km long trek which starts from Gaurikund. During your trekking or before starting your trek you can take Ghoda (Horse), pithu, and palqueen to reach kedarnath.

Fact 6: The Mysterious Protective Rock- Bhima Shila

In 2013 when Kedarnath witnessed extreme flooding, a rock named Bhima Shila which currently stayed behind Kedarnath temple, mysteriously stopped the flood water in 2013 from destroying Kedarnath Temple. Everything around the temple has been destroyed but kedarnath was safe because of that mysterious rock. Many people see this as a God’s protector. According to legend Bhim one of Pandavas has promised to lord shiva that he would never let even a single scratch to this temple, now people believed that this rock is connected to this fact and bhim protecting this temple as yet.

Conclusion

This is how kedarnath Temple is a wonder of uttarakhand who hide lots of mysterious facts behind temple, in which we discussed about some facts about Kedarnath Temple like- temples’s origin, a self manifested triangular-shaped lingam, how temple always protected during extreme snowfall and deviated flood, its 16 km long trek and how an mysterious rock protected Kedarnath temple. There are many mysterious facts like this. If you are planning to go on Kedarnath Trekking then you have to prepare yourself to get defended from Himalayan Weather and to complete 16 Km Kedarnath Trek.