Kedarnath Dham Jyotirlinga

The Kedarnath Dham Jyotirlinga, is one of the most popular in 12 Aadi Jyotirlings of India, it is a Hindu pilgrimage site located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. millions of shiva devotees and tourists visit the kedarnath dham every year.

Kedarnath Dham – Uttarakhand

Kedarnath Temple is located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state of India. Kedarnath temple in the lap of Himalaya Mountains in Uttarakhand is one of the Char Dham and Panch Kedar along with being included in the twelve Jyotirlingas. It is one of the most popular and largest Shiva temple in Uttarakhand, which is built by joining huge boulders of cut stones. These boulders are brown in colour.

The temple is built on a platform about 6 feet high. Its sanctum sanctorum is ancient, which is believed to be around the 80th century. Kedarnath Dham and the temple is surrounded by mountains on three sides. On one side is about 22 thousand feet high Kedarnath, on the other side is 21 thousand 600 feet high Bhatkund and on the third side there is 22 thousand 700 feet high Bharatkund. The Kedarnath temple is not only a confluence of three mountains but also five rivers – Mandakini, Madhuganga, Kshirganga, Saraswati and Swarnagauri.Some of these rivers no longer exist but the Mandakini, a tributary of the Alaknanda, still exists.

Historical Significance of Kedarnath

According to the history of Kedarnath Dham, the Shivling located in the Kedarnath temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Kedareshwar Dham is situated on the side of Kedarnath temple. It is said about the history of Kedarnath temple made of stone made of Katyrui style that it was built by Janmejaya of Pandava dynasty.But it is also said that it was founded by Adiguru Shankaracharya.
In the Shri Kedarnath temple, Shankar is worshiped in the form of a body of a bull’s back.  The arms of Shiva appeared in Tungnath, the mouth in Rudranath, the navel in Madamdeshwar and the Jata in Kalpeshwar. Therefore, with these four places, Shri Kedarnath is called “Panchkedar”.

about he establishment of Jyotirlinga of Kedarnath temple Mahatapasvi Nar and Narayan Rishi, the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, used to do penance on the Kedar mountain of the Himalayas. Pleased with his worship, Lord Shankar appeared and according to his prayer,granted him the boon to reside forever in the form of Jyotirlinga. This place is situated on the ridge called Kedar of the Kedarnath mountain range Himalayas.

The Story of Panchkedar (Kedarnath) It is believed that after being victorious in the war of Mahabharata, the Pandavas wanted to get rid of the sin of fraternity (killing family members). For this they wanted to get the blessings of Lord Shankar. But Lord Shankar was angry with the Pandavas. Pandavas went to Kashi to see Lord Shankar, but Lord Shankar did not meet Pandavas there. They reached the Himalayas searching for them.  Lord Shankar did not want to give darshan to the Pandavas, so he disappeared from there and settled in Kedar. On the other hand, the Pandavas were also firm, they followed them and reached Kedar.

Lord Shankar took the form of a bull and joined other animals. The Pandavas had doubts that Lord Shankar was present in the herd of these animals. Then Bhima took his huge form and spread his legs on two mountains. All the other cows and oxen left, but taking the form of a bull, Shankar ji was not ready to go from under his feet. Then Bhima pounced on the bull with all his might, but the bull began to meditate on the ground.

Then Bhima grabbed the back part of the bull. And Lord Shankar was pleased to see the devotion and determination of the Pandavas.He immediately appeared and freed the Pandavas from their sins. Since that time Lord Shankar is worshiped in Shri Kedarnath Dham in the form of the body of the bull’s back.

Kedarnath Dham Aarti Timings

The daily pooja rituals at the Kedarnath temple start early morning, around 4.00 am with Maha Abhishek , the evening Aarti starts around 6-6:30 after that temple closes.

Here is the information in the same format for reaching Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand:

Nearest Airport to Reach Kedarnath

Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is the nearest airport to reach Kedarnath. It is a domestic airport serving as the main air gateway for pilgrims traveling to Kedarnath and is approximately 239 KM away from Kedarnath.

Jolly Grant Airport Flight Connectivity

Jolly Grant Airport offers a range of domestic flight services, connecting Dehradun to key destinations listed below:

• Delhi
• Mumbai
• Lucknow
• Bangalore
• Hyderabad
• Ahmedabad
• Chandigarh

Airlines Serving Jolly Grant Airport

The following airlines operate flights to Jolly Grant Airport:

• IndiGo
• SpiceJet
• Vistara
• Air India

Nearest Railway Station to Reach Kedarnath

The nearest railway station to Kedarnath is Rishikesh Railway Station, which is approximately 216 KM from Kedarnath. It serves as the closest major railway station, providing connectivity for pilgrims traveling to the holy shrine. However, Haridwar Railway Station (241 KM) offers better connectivity with more trains.

Trains to Rishikesh & Haridwar

Rishikesh and Haridwar connect to several key cities in India. Some important long-distance trains are:

• Delhi: Shatabdi Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Mussoorie Express
• Mumbai: Dehradun Express, Bandra Terminus Express
• Kolkata: Doon Express, Upasana Express
• Lucknow: Nanda Devi Express, Doon Express
• Ahmedabad: Yoga Express, Haridwar Mail
• Chandigarh: Chandigarh-Dehradun Express

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)