Kedarnath temple is a divine temple in India. A temple is a place of peace for devotees of Shiva. Hindus believe that it is a destination where God grants wishes and purifies the karma of devotees. But other than that, there are many rare facts about this temple that make it so unique.

14 Interesting Facts About The Temple

These are some surprising facts about the sacred place.

Massive floods and heavy rains in 2013 destroyed many surroundings in Kedarnath, but the Kedarnath temple remained in place. It is believed that this is because Shiva protects the temple.

The greetings change in Kedarnath. Tourists will hear Jai Kedar or Jai Shree Kedar everywhere in Kedarnath. These are standard greetings for people who are on Kedarnath yatra. It is because Shiva is outside the temple in people’s minds.

Udak Kund is located south of the temple. It has excellent sacred importance for devotees; they pour the water of Udak Kund on Shiva’s statue inside the temple. It is said that people who drink this water will be free of the circle of life and death.

Kedarnath Tirth Purohits are called Panda or Tirth Gurus of Kedarnath temple; they perform rituals for their well-wishers and collect fees. They live in 3 certain areas in Kedarnath, Fata, Bamsu, and UKhimath. These Pandas consider themselves as the heir of the original 360 Purohit families.

Garhwal’s people view the Kedarnath temple differently. The Shivalinga here is a self-manifested jyotirlinga that is there from the start of time. Locals believe that Shiva is formless.

After Mahabharat, Pandavas felt guilty of killing their brothers and wanted to remove their sins, so they asked Shiva for forgiveness, but the Lord hid from them instead. They followed the Lord to Kedarnath, where the temple is now. The warriors could only see God’s bulge, so Bheem pulled out the buffalo, which merged with the jyotirlinga. The Lord forgave their sins, and thus the temple was formed.

According to the mythology, Nar and Narayan, the two incarnations of Vishnu, took a penalty for 1000 years on one leg. They created a Shivalinga in Bhadrika village, which impressed Shiva, God gave them one wish, and they asked the Lord to make the place holy by staying there. From that time, Lord Shiva stays there as Kedar.

Ghee is essential in the Kedarnath temple. Devotees rub the Shivalinga with ghee as it is auspicious; it is a sacred ritual. Locals also believe that the Shivalinga is a mountain in which they live as Shiva lives on Kailash.

Hindus believe that the Bhairavnath temple protects Kedarnath temple from evil spirits. It is south of Kedarnath temple. Bhairavnath is another incarnation of Lord Shiva.

The temple is a part of Panch Kedar, Tungnath, Rudranath, Madhyamaheshwar, Kalpeshwar, and Kedarnath. Devotees visit them in sequence.

The structure is over a thousand years old; it was built by Adi Shankracharya in the 8th century with giant stone slabs on a rectangular platform.

Behind the temple lies the grave of Adi Shankaracharya, who reached heaven at 32. It is said that Shankaracharya merged with Kedarnath’s land and became one with God.

The weather of Kedarnath keeps on changing, sometimes it snows and hails, fog or sunshine. It is auspicious to take a bath before entering any religious place. However, Kedarnath’s atmosphere is not suitable to take a bath, so devotees take air baths as Kedarnath’s air has the power to purify the soul.

Rudra Cave is near the temple, and it is for meditating only. There is no internet connection in the cave to prevent distraction from the outer world.

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