A Tour to Uttarakhand, the chosen “Land of Gods” in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent is one of the best ways to experience spirituality and nature together. This state is one of the most popular states for spiritual tourism as this state houses some most revered pilgrim sites for Hindus like the Chota Chardham, Panch Kedar, Panch Prayag, and many others.In this blog, we will talk about the Panch Kedar Dham – a sacred pilgrimage circuit nestled in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. It is a journey that takes devout pilgrims on a spiritual journey to five ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The term “Panch Kedar” translates to “Five Kedars,” as “Panch” means five and “Kedar” is one of the names of the beloved God Shiva. The five temples that are a part of Panch Kedar Uttarakhand are Kedarnath, Madhmaheshwar, Tungnath, Rudranath, and Kalpnath.
The formation of Panch Kedar Dham has a very interesting local legend, which dates back to the Dvapar Yuga, the time when the famous Indian Epic of Mahabharata took place. Let’s know more about this local legend.
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In the epic of Mahabharata, the Pandavas defeat the Kauravas in the final battle of Kurukshetra. The horrors of these deadly battles lingered in everyone’s mind and the ones who remained alive (the Pandavas) had a heavy guilt of killing their own teachers, friends, and family members (the Kauravas were the cousins of Pandavas).The Pandavas wished for reparation for the sins they had committed during the Kurukshetra war and on the advice of Lord Krishna, they handed over their kingdom to their kins and left in search of Lord Shiva to seek mercy.
First, they went to the holy city of Varanasi (Kashi), which is believed to be Lord Shiva’s favorite city and today is known for the famous Kashi Vishveshwar Temple (1 of 12 jyotirlingas). However, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was very angry over the death and injustice at the war and so he did not respond to Pandavas’ prayer.
He changed his form into a bull named Nandi and hid in the Garhwal region in Uttarakhand. This area is today known as Guptkashi meaning the hidden Kashi, derived from the hiding act of Shiva. Not able to find Shiva in Varanasi, the Pandavas then headed to the Himalayas.
Bhima, the strongest amongst the Pandava brothers, spotted a bull grazing in the meadows around Guptkashi in the Garhwal Himalayas. He immediately recognized the bull to be Lord Shiva (as Nandi – the bull was the vehicle of Lord Shiva). Bhima chased the bull and caught hold of the hump of the bull.
But the bull disappeared into the ground, while the hump remained in Kedarnath. The other body parts of the bull then reappeared in four other places. The arms in Tungnath, the face in Rudranath, the navel and stomach at Madhyamaheshwar, and the hair in Kalpeshwar/ Kalpnath.
The Pandavas then built temples in these five places for pleasing and worshipping Lord Shiva and thus, the Pandavas were freed from their sins. Thus, the Garhwal region of the Himalayas is also known as the “Kedar Khand” as this whole event took place here.
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