Panch Kedar

The way Panch Prayag , Panch Badri are located in Uttarakhand, in the same way there is also Panch Kedar, which is considered to be the place of Lord Shiva. There is no place in District of Uttarkhand where God does not reside, that’s why Uttarakhand is known as Devbhoomi.

Panch Kedar:- Kedarnath , Tungnath, Madhmaheshwar , Rudranath , Kalpeshwar.

1.Madhmaheshwar:- Madhyamaheshwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and is one of the Panch Kedars. It is located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state. It is said that the Madhyamaheshwar temple was built by the Pandavas during the time of Mahabharata. The navel of the bull incarnation of Lord Shiva was revealed in Madhyamaheshwar temple, and the navel is worshiped here.  This temple is situated at an altitude of 3,497 meters (11,473 ft) above sea level.  

The Kedarnath temple is located where Bhima had captured the part of the bull. The other three cadres are Tungnath (Arms), Rudranath (Face), Kalpeshwar (Jata).

2.Rudranath:- Rudranath Temple is located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state of India. This temple is one of the five Kedars. Rudranath Temple is large and like a priceless gift of nature which is located at an altitude of 2290 meters above the sea level.

The most interesting thing about this temple is that in this temple Lord Shiva’s face is worshipped.

3.Kapleshwar:- Kapleshwar Temple is also known as Kalpanath Temple. This temple is situated in the Urgam  valley at an altitude of about 2134 meters above sea level. Here the hair of Lord Shiva is seen. Lord Shiva’s darshan is here for twelve months.

It is said that at this place, sage Durvasa did severe penance under the Kalpa tree. Kapleshwar Temple is one of the major religious places of Uttarakhand.

4.Tungnath:- This temple is built at an altitude of 3460 meters, and at the same time it is the highest among the Panch Kedars. There is a mountain situated in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand State which is known as Tungnath. It is said in the Puranas that Shri Ramchandra ji used to worship Shiva as his God. It is believed that after killing Lankapati Ravana, Ramchandra ji went one and a half kilometers ahead of Tungnath and meditated in Chandrashila.

5.Kedarnath:-

Kedarnath temple is famous in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state. Kedarnath Temple is in the lap of the Himalayas is one of the Char Dham and Panch Kedar along with being included in the twelve Jyotirlingas.

This temple is situated on a six feet high platform. There is no historical evidence about the age of this temple, but Kedarnath has been an important pilgrimage site for a thousand years.

A small history of this Jyotirlinga is that, Maha ascetic Nar and Narayan Rishi used to do penance on Kedar Shring of Himalayas, incarnations of Lord Vishnu pleased with his worship, Lord Shankar appeared and according to his prayer, granted him the boon to reside forever in the form of Jyotirlinga.