Kedarnath Mandir reopens ~ Shri Narendra Modiji has darshan at the holy Temple

Of the many temples of Lord Shiva, this one at Himalayan range stands tall.  The temple of Shiva – ‘Kēdārnāth Mandir’ is on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand.  Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April (Akshaya Tritriya) to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon, usually November). During the winters, the vigrahas (deities) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshiped there for six months. Lord Shiva is worshiped as Kedarnath, the 'Lord of Kedar Khand', the historical name of the region.

The place is not that easily accessible  by road and has to be reached by a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony and manchan services are  available to reach the structure. The temple was built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva.

Geographically it is located  21Kms from Sonprayag at an altutide of 3581 Mt., and naturally is the highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas.   The ancient temple dating back to more than  a thousand years is built of massive stone slabs over a large rectangular platform. The inner walls of the temple sanctum are adorned with figures of various deities and scenes from mythology. The origin of the revered temple can be found in the great epic - Mahabharata.

At the approach of winter in the month of November, the holy statue of Lord Shiva, is carried down from Kedarnath to Ukhimath, and is reinstated at Kedarnath, in the first week of May.  At this time, the Temple opens for darshan to pilgrims who throng in lakhs braving all difficulties.  The Temple is in most serene scenery, surrounded by lofty snow-covered mountains, a great mystic place.   There are more than 200 shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in Chamoli district itself,yet  the most important one is Kedarnath, the present temple built by Adi Shankara in 8^th century stands imposing.  It is built of extremely large, heavy and evenly cut grey slabs of stones, it evokes wonder as to how these heavy slabs had been handled in the earlier days.

Of the many worshippers, this time, it was our respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji arriving in Dehradun on Wednesday and offering prayers at the holy Kedarnath temple.  Modiji reached the Kedarnath minutes before it reopened its gates at around 8.50 am, after the six month-long winter break.  The Prime Minister took part in an important ritual inside the sanctum sanctorum.He was then presented with a miniature replica of the shrine. Earlier, Shri Modi was welcomed by Uttarakhand Governor Krishna Kant Paul and Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on his arrival here.

Shiva Shivaya Potriye !

சிவாசிவாய போற்றியே; நமச்சிவாய போற்றியே

இறப்பற்கும் ஏகனே ; பொருத்தருள் அனேகனே

பரம்பொருள் உன்நாமத்தை, கரம்குவித்து பாடினோம்

இறப்பிலி உன்கால்களை ; சிரங்குவித்து தேடினோம்