Friday, December 10, 2010

Panch Kedar


Cradled in the Garhwal Himalaya's ranges are five of Hinduism's most important temples inspired by the five religious forms of Lord Shiva, known as the Panch Kedar.

Kedarnath (3584 m) / Madhmaheshwar (3289 m) / Tungnath (3810 m) / Rudranath (2286 m) / Kalpeshwar (2134 m),sprawled over the vast Kedar Valley with altitudes ranging from 1500m to 3680m.

The Panch Kedar trek includes all the shrines associated with these legends. Kedarnath is situated at the head of the Mandakini River, where the Linga is a natural rock that resembles the hump of a bull. Madhmaheshwar, at the base of the Chaukhamba Peak, is at the altitude of 3500 m. The Linga is here worshipped in the form of a navel. Tungnath, where the arm of Shiva appeared, is the highest temple in Garhwal (3810 m).

500 m above the temple at Tungnath is Chandrashila, with a breathtaking view of the Himalayas. Rudranath is situated where the face of Shiva is said to have appeared.

There is a natural rock temple in which the Shiva Mukha is worshipped. Nearby the temple, there are many little lakes like the Surya Kund, Tara Kund and Manas Kund. Kalpeshwar is situated in the beautiful valley of Urgam. There is a cave temple and Shiva is worshipped in his matted hair form, when He tried to flee from the Pandavas at Kedarnath.

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