Kedarnath temple to get a ‘golden’ makeover

#GS-01 Indian Heritage

About Kedarnath Temple

Kedarnath Temple was built in 8th century A.D. by Adi Shankaracharya and is one of the 12 jyotirlingas in India.
The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is said to be more than 1,200 years old.
Kedarnath Temple is an integral part of the famous Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand.
The Kedarnath temple has an inner sanctum (Garbha Griha) for worship and a Mandap, for assemblies of pilgrims and visitors.
Lord Shiva in his Sadashiva form is worshipped as a conical rock formation inside the temple.
The temple is located at an altitude of nearly 3,500 meters above the sea level, and it remains covered in snow for the most part of the year.
The temple is closed during winter, since during the winter season the deity is brought down to a village called Ukhimat.
The deity is carried back to the temple in summer, when the weather improves, amid much fanfare and rituals.
The temple is built using extremely large, heavy and evenly cut grey slabs of stones.
The Temple is built adjacent to the site of an earlier temple believed to have been built by the Pandavas.
The inner walls of the assembly hall is decorated with figures of various deities and scenes from mythology.
Outside the temple door a large statue of the Nandi Bull stands as guard.
Kedarnath temple is built on the banks of Mandakini and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

To know more about Char Dham Yatra click here

The Mandakini River is a tributary of Alaknanda River which is one of the two main streams of the river Ganga.
It emerges from Chorabari glacier and flows between Rudraprayag and Sonprayag.
The Mandakini River merges with Songanga river at Sonprayag.