Interesting Facts About Kedarnath You Must Know

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Interesting Facts About Kedarnath You Must Know

• Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Kedarnath is an enigma
  in itself. With many mythological and real-life
  stories attached to the place, it is always
  interesting to find more about it and have a
  Trip to Kedarnath. Lets take a look at some of
  the most interesting facts about Kedarnath.
• A huge amount of rain flooded the Kedarnath on
  June 2013. The Kedarnath flood was so severe that
  the bank of Chorabari Lake came down destroying
  everything that came its way. Around 5,000 people

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• were missing or lost their lives, a huge chunk of
  which were pilgrims from around the world. Only
  the Kedarnath temple survived this day of
  disaster as a huge rock diverted the flow to the
  sides of the temple. Even years after this
  incident, search operations are held to find
  more and more skeletons in this holy place. The
  last such operation was held in 2020.
• The Kedarnath Temple remains closed for visitors
  for 6 months every year. Due to heavy rainfall,
  and
• harsh weather conditions, it is not safe for
  pilgrims to have a Kedarnath Trip. Even the
  locals living
• there move to a safer destination. Almost 360
  families are dependent on the town of Kedarnath
• for their livelihood but they move to nearby
  villages in the winter season. It is closed on
• Bhaiduj, happening a day after Diwali and reopens
  on Akshaya Tritiya in the month of April or May.
• The statue of Lord Shiva is carried away to
• Omkareshwar Temple in Ukthimath near Guptrishi
  for safety purposes.

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• The management of Kedarnath Temple comes under
  the Uttar Pradesh State Government Act No.
  30/1948 as Act no. 16,1939. It is called Shri
  Badrinath or Shri Kedarnath Mandir Act. In 2002,
  this act was modified to include government
  officials. Now the Kedarnath Temple board has 17
  members, 10 of which are selected by the
  government of Uttarakhand. The four districts of
  Kedarnath select one member each. Chief priest
  Rawal and 3 other priests are also a part of this
  board. A Chief Executive Officer has been
  appointed to carry out the orders given by the
  state government of Uttarakhand.

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• Legend has it that the Pandavas built the
  Kedarnath Temple after the great epic
  Mahabharat. Since they felt guilty for shedding
  the blood of their own brothers, they wanted to
  atone for their sins. They were trying to find
  Lord Shiva to ask for forgiveness. But not
  wanting to forgive them Lord Shiva hid in
  Guptrashi. When Bheem found him anyway, hiding
  in the form of a bull, Lord Shiva disappeared
  scattering himself in 5 different places
  Kedarnath, Rudranath, Tungnath, Madhyamaheshwar,
  and Kalpeshwar. Those are now known as the Panch
  Kedar. Lord Shiva did forgive them in the end
  though!
• Did you know that the Bhairavnath Temple is
• situated quite near to the Kedarnath Temple in
  the Himalayan regions? Bhairon Baba also known
  as Kshetrapal (guardian of the region), is one
  of the many avatars of Lord Shiva. It is
  believed that he protects the Temple from human
  and natural calamities and evil spirits. It is
  also believed that it is him who protects the
  town during the winter months when the weather
  is at its worth in Kedarnath. Bhairavnath Temple
  is just 500 meters from Kedarnath Temple on foot
  and Kedarnath Tour Package offers a great view
  of the entire Kedarnath valley.

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• The priests who perform the rituals in the
  Kedarnath Temple belong to the Rawal community
  of Karnataka. The same rituals and mantras are
  being repeated since the 10th Century AD. All
  these mantras are chanted in the Kannada
  language by the priest. The head priest of the
  temple does not perform these rituals instead
  giving this opportunity to his assistants. The
  Kedarnath Temple has five head priests and the
  title of head priest is offered to them by
  rotation. When the statue of Lord Shiva is moved
  to Omkareshwar Temple, the priests relocate with
  it. Both for devotion and for their own safety.
• Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan
• starrer Kedarnath was shot around the Kedarnath
  Temple. This movie was based on the Kedarnath
  floods that took thousands of lives in 2013. This
  was Khans debut film. The priests of Kedarnath
  wanted the censor board to ban the film as they
  believed it promoted love jihad and made fun of
  Hindu sentiments. From government officials to
  comman man, many other people also demanded a
  ban on it. Of course later the film was released
  anyway as the court dismissed that and many
  other cases filed against the film.

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• Located at the south of Kedarnath Temple, Udak
  Kund is believed to have great spiritual
  significance. Devotees say that whoever drinks
  the holy water of Udak Kund will forever be
  freed from the repetitive cycle of birth and
  death. This water is believed to have
  purification abilities and it also poured on the
  statue of Lord Shiva situated in the Kedarnath
  Temple. According to Kedar Khand of Shiv Purana,
  the water of Udak Kund is a mixture of all five
  oceans. Not just Udak Khand the water of a lot
  of holy rivers in India is used for purification
  purposes.
• Some places have hi, some places say namaste in
  Kedarnath people will always greet you with Jai
  kedar or Jai Shri Kedar. The devotion and belief
  in an eternal power is so strong in the people
  of Kedarnath that even their greetings are a
  reflection of that very belief. Even the
  celebrations in this town are mostly God
  related, with Janmashtami being celebrated with
  a huge fan fair. The influence of western
  culture is minimum in this holy land as most
  locals choose to devote their time and attention
  to their work and prayers. Only vegetarian food
  is served here.
• Ghee is considered holy in the Kedarnath Temple
  and is applied on the Lingam during prayers. But

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when the Archeological Survey of India visited
the temple to inspect and restore it after the
Kedarnath Floods they warned against. Since the
stones are not cleaned of the ghee that is
applied, the ghee is rotting and choking the
stones of their natural breathing ability. Many
engravings in the temple have already been
damaged due to the ghee applied on them every
day. Due to the acidic reaction from the ghee
layer, the stone is turning to power at an
alarming pace. We hope these interesting facts
makes you more excited and helps you plan your
Kedarnath Tour Package with much more ease. Have
a safe trip and dont forget your mask for these
hard times!
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