The
lingam at Kedarnath, unlike its usual form, is pyramidal and is
regarded as one of the 12 jyotirlings.
The
pandavas after having won over the kauravas in the Kurukshetra
war, felt guilty of having killed their own brothers & sought
the blessings of Lord Shiva for redemption.He eluded them repeatedly
& while fleeing took refuge at Kedarnath in the form of a
bull. On being followed he dived into the ground, leaving his
hump on the surface. The remaining portions of Lord Shiva appeared
at four places and are worshiped there as his manifestations.
The arms appeared at Tunganath, the face at Rudranath, the belly
at Madmaheshwar & his locks at Kalpeshwar. Kedarnath including
these four shrines is treated as Panch Kedar.
Pilgrims
traditionally first visit Yamunotri and Gangotri and bring with
them the holy waters from the sources of the rivers Yamuna and
Ganga and offer abhishekams to Kedareshwara. The traditional pilgrim
route is Haridwar - Rishikesh - Devaprayag - Tehri - Dharasu -
YaYamunotri - Uttar Kashi - Gangotri - Triyugnarayan - Gowrikund
and Kedarnath. Alternatively, the route to Kedar from Rishikesh
is via Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and Ukhimath. Near Kedarnath
is the source of the river Mandakini. Mandakini joins Alakananda
at Rudraprayag.
|