Panch Kedar
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| Panch Kedar |
Panch Kedar: Shiva, the resident of Kailash, who is the owner of the Himalayas and countless water streams emanating from the Himalayas, has been the adoration of Uttarakhand state for years. Uttarakhand exists and Uttarakhand is recognized by him. I am saying this because this part of the Himalayas was famous as Kedarkhand from time immemorial and even today this land is known by the name of Kedareshwar. In Uttarakhand, people go out less in search of beauty here but more in search of Shiva. There are many Siddha Peeths of Uttarakhand and Panch Kedar made of five parts of Lord Shiva.
Hindu texts say that once a person has darshan of these Panch Kedar, then all his clan and ancestors get absorbed. Then the question arises, after all, who is Panch Kedar and what is the story behind these Panch Kedars?
Story Behind Panch Kedar
Often you must have read about Panch Kedar in the books of general knowledge and you will also know their names. But have you ever known about the history of these Panch Kedar. The entire story of Panch Kedar is related to the ascension of the Pandavas to heaven and the visions of Shiva in their Kedarkhand.
And the origin of these five Kedars is also the result of the same event. According to the legend, when the Pandavas were victorious in the Mahabharata war, then Lord Krishna told them to see Shiva.
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At the time of ascending to heaven, when the Pandavas reached this area after passing along the banks of the Alaknanda, they praised Shiva in different places. But Lord Shiva, having three eyes, knew the purpose of the Pandavas, so he took the form of Mahisha (buffalo) (according to Kedarkhand) and after taking this form, he joined the herd of animals.
As the Pandavas went on their way to heaven, they kept meditating on Shiva at different places, but Shiva did not come to them even after being around them. The Pandavas came to know about this when they roamed near Guptkashi and saw Mahisha in the herd of animals.
Realizing this, the mighty Bhima spread his legs between the two rocks and the rest of the Pandavas sent the animals towards that side. The rest of the herd of animals came out from below, but Lord Shiva began to merge into the earth. Seeing this, Bhima grabbed Mahisha's back and prevented him from leaving. But Shiva disappeared and the five parts of his body appeared in five parts of Uttarakhand including Nepal.
Name of these Panch Kedar situated in Uttarakhand
It is said that when Lord Shiva disappeared in the form of Mahisha, the upper part of his torso appeared in Kathmandu, where the Pashupatinath temple is situated. Whereas their parts appeared in other parts of Garhwal including Kedarnath, Madmaheshwar, Rudranath, Tungnath, and Kalpeshwar. These five places located in Uttarakhand are known as Panch Kedar.
Kedarnath
Kedarnath is located in Rudraprayag district. This is the main abode of Shiva and in Panch Kedar, Kedareshwar Shiva is first seen. It is said that when Shiva began to touch the earth, Bhima caught hold of his back. But Shiva disappeared and the shape of his back appeared in the form of a pind in Kedarnath. The same rock is worshiped in Kedarnath. Due to Bhima holding the back of Shiva, wounds were formed on his back. At the time of worship in Kedarnath, the stone is coated with ghee, sandalwood, etc. read ahead...
Madmaheshwar
Madmaheshwar is situated at an altitude of 3,497 meters above sea level at Ransi Ukhimath in Rudraprayag district. In Madmaheshwar, the navel of Shiva is worshipped. Panch Kedar Madmaheshwar is worshiped in second place. The mythological name of Madmaheshwar was Madhyamaheshwar. Which later came to be known as Madmaheshwar.
Tungnath
The arms of Lord Shiva are worshiped at Tungnath in Chopta of Rudraprayag. This temple is on the summit of Tongnath or Tungnath mountain.
Apart from Shiva, there are also small temples of five Pandavas in this temple. It said that the Pandavas worshiped Lord Shiva in this place, where the Tungnath temple is situated.
Rudranath -
The height of this temple is 2,290 meters above sea level. The Rudranath Yatra starts from the beautiful Pung Bugyal of Uttarakhand after climbing about 4 km from the Sagar village of Gopeshwar. Tourists and devotees cross the climb and reach the Pitradhar place, where the temple of Lord Shiva, Parvati, and Lord Vishnu is situated. Here the face of Shiva is worshipped.
kalpeshwar
Kalpeshwar situated in the Kalpaganga valley, Kalpa Ganga was called by the name Hiranyavati in ancient times. The land situated on its right is called Durbasa Bhoomi. There is also a temple of Dhyan Badri at this place. The hair of Shiva had appeared in Kalpeshwar. Kalpeshwar Mahadev is worshiped at the fifth place in Panch Kedar.
This Whole article is originally written by Deepak Bisht on wegarhwali.com. It is a translated version of that article if you find some errors. Please correct us. :)