Shri Kedarnath | Char Dham

Kedarnath Map

Among the twelve JyotirLingas of Bhagwan Shankara, the one at Kedarnath is located in the snow-covered area of the Himalayas. This JyotirLinga can be visited only during six months in a year. From the month of Vaisakha to Ashwin (Ashwiyaja) is the time when pilgrims can make the journey to this. The rest of the year it is too cold and the Himalayas are covered in snow. Therefore, the Kedarnath temple remains closed for pilgrims.

During the month of Karthik, due to snowfall, Sri Kedareshwar idol is brought out of the temple after lighting a ghee lamp, “Nanda Deepa”. Then the temple is closed for the winter. From the month of Karthik to Chaitra Sri Kedareshwar’s abode is shifted to the Urvi Math, which is in the valley. In the month of Vaishakh, when the temple doors are opened the lamp “Nanda Deepa” still keeps burning. People come to see this glorious lamp and the Shiva devotees consider themselves blessed.

Hardwar is considered to be the gateway to heaven, the magic city or Mayapur. Ahead of Haridwar, there are holy places like Rishikesh, Devprayag, Sonprayag and Triyugi Narayan, Gaurikund. To Kedarnath one has to pass through these places. Some part of the journey is motorable and the rest has to be walked upon. This part of the way through the Himalaya is very difficult. But devotees go through all this with dedication and determination. They overcome all the difficulties with perseverance.

To climb the steep path, some use mules, some use Dolis (swing like carriages) and some others use walking sticks. There are arrangements for acquiring these here. There are chowltries and resting places in between for the tired yatris. At Gaurikund, the pilgrims get to have a bath in the hot springs there. After this, they take a Darshan of the head-less Ganesha. It is here in Gaurikund, that Lord Shiva cut off Ganesha’s head with the trident and later replaced with the head of an elephant.

A little farther from Gaurikund, near the snow-clad mountains, on the banks of River Mandakini, the Kedarnath temple of the glorious JyotirLinga of Lord Shankar becomes visible. This is where Lord Shankar had made His abode. The shivalinga here is self-manifest and not installed by anyone. It is said that this is the hind part of Mahisha (he-buffalo).

History of Kedarnath

During the war between the Kauravas and Pandavas, their own kith and kin gor killed. In order to absolve themselves of this sin, the Pandavas went for a pilgrimage. But Lord Vishweshwara was away in Kailasa in the Himalayas. On learning this, the Pandavas, left Kashi. They reached the Himalayas via Hardwar. They saw Lord Shankar from a distance. But Lord Shankara hid from them. Then Dharmaraj said: “Oh, Lord, You have hidden yourself from our sight because we have sinned. But, we will seek You out somehow. Only after we take your Darshan would our sins be washed away. This place, where You have hidden Yourself will be known as Guptkashi and become a famous shrine.”

From Guptakashi (Rudraprayag), the Pandavas went ahead they reached Gaurikund in the Himalayas valleys. They wandered there in search of Lord Shankara. While doing so Nakul and Sahadev found a he-buffalo. It was unique to look at.

Then! Bhemma went after the buffalo with his mace. The buffalo was clever and Bheema could not catch it. But Bheema managed to hit the buffalo with his mace. The buffalo had its face hidden in a crevice-in the earth. Bheema started to pull it by its tail. In this tug-of war, the face of the buffalo went straight to Nepal, leaving its hind part in Kedar. The face of the buffalo is known as Pashupatinath in Nepal.

On this hind part of Mahesha, a glorious JyotirLinga appeared. Lord Shankara appeared from this great light. He appeared before the pandavas. By getting a Darshan of Lord Shankar, the pandavas were absolved of their sins. The Lord told the Pandavas, “From now on, I will remain here as a triangular shaped JyotirLinga. By taking a Darshan of Kedarnath, devotees would attain piety”. Near Kedarnath, there are many symbols of the Pandavas Raja Pandu died here, when he tried to make love to Madri. This place is famous as Pandukeshwar. The tribals here perform a dance called “Pandav Nritya”. The mountain top where the Pandavas went to Swarga, is known as “Swargarohini”. When Darmaraja was leaving for Swarga, one of his fingers fell on the earth. At that palce, Dharmaraj installed a Shiva Linga, which is the size of the thumb.

To gain Mashisharupa, Shankara and Bheema fought with maces. Bheema was struck with remorse. He started to massage Lord Shankara’s body with ghee. In memory of this event, even today, this triangular Shiva JyotirLinga is massaged with ghee. Shankara is worshipped here in this manner. Water and Bel leaves are used for worship.

When Nar-nrayan went to Badrika village and started the worship of Parthiva, Shiva appeared before them. A few days later, a pleased Shiva granted them some boons. Nar-narayan wished that for the welfare of the humanity, Shiva should remain there in his original form. Granting their wish, in the snow-clad Himalayas, in a place called Kedar, Mahesha himself stayed there as a Jyoti. Here, He is known as Kedareshwara.

By visiting Kedareshwar, sorrows do not come even in dreams. By worshipping Shambara (Kedareshwar) Pandavas were rid of all theor sorrows. Badri-Keshwar’s darshan rids one of the material ties. Whoever gives Dan (alms) at Kedareshwar, just gets assimilated into Shivaroopa.

Around the main Kedarnath temples, there are many holy places. At the back, there is the Samadhi of Shankarachrya. A little further up, there is dangerous cliff called Bhariguptan (Bhairav Udan). One has to pass through dreadful, and life threatening circumstances. But what one gets is not Mrityu (Death) but Moksha (Salvation). On all the eight sides of the temple, there are eight shrines.

In short, it is to say that in order to visit Kedarnath, JyotirLinga, one has to go through a treacherous route. But when people are determined and dedicated, they never get tired. Every one keeps chanting Jay Kedarnath! Jay Kedarnath!!

Srimat Shankaracharya praised Lord Shiva thus:

mahAdripArshve cha taTe ramantaM sampUjyamAnaM satataM munIndraiH |

surAsurairyaxa mahoragADhyaiH kedAramIshaM shivamekamIDe ||

Meaning:

Oh Lord, who resides in the great heights of Himalayas, oh Lord, thou, who art worshipped forever by saints, Hermits, Demons, Gods, Yakshas and Maha Nag (giant snakes), I bow and offer millions of Pranams.

sambandhar, and sundharar have sung one padhikam (1) each on the Lord of Kedharam.

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Shri Tryambakeshwar | Nasik

Tryambakeshwar Jyothirlinga

Of the twelve JyotirLingas of Lord Shankara, the tenth one is known as Tryambakeshwara. Tryambak is near Nasik in Maharashtra. This great JyotirLinga on the banks of Gautami has a unique form. The Lord in this temple’s Grabhagriha is not worshipped with Abhisheka with water (Jalahari) unlike others. There is just a bottom part of the pounding stone (Ukhali), instead, like a hole.

In that hole there are three Lingas shaped like the Thumbs. Hence Tryambakeshwara. Of these three Lingas, the Linga of Mahesha has a constant shower of water from an orifice above. It is a natural source of water coming down as Abhisheka for the Lord.

Tryambakeshwar History

Ahalya’s husband, Gautama was doing Tapas or penance on the Dakshina Mountain. It did not rain there for a hundred years and the land was drying up and life forms disappearing. Seeing these conditions of drought, the residents, the saints, and all the birds and animals fled from there. Saint Gautam did a great Mangalik tapas through Pranayama for six long months. Varuna, the deva of rains, was pleased and appeared before Gautama, who inturn asked for water. At the behest of Varuna, Gautam dug a hole on his hand. With the help of Varuna’s miraculous power, it filled with water. Varuna said, “Due to the power of your penance, this hole would be an unending source of water “Akshya”. It will become famous by your name. It will augment all holy rituals like Yagna, Dana, Tapa, Homa Shraadha, and worship of Gods. After this water was thus acquired, the saints started making preparations for the Yagna and the production of “Breehika”. 

Once when the disciples of Gautama went to fetch some water, from that waterhole, just then some of the saints wives were also there for the same purpose. They insisted on taking water first. The disciples of Gautama called Gautama’s wife. She intervened and allowed her husband’s disciples to fetch water. The wives of the Rishis felt insulted at this and complained to their husbands and while doing so added a few lies here and there. The great saints at once started the worship of Ganesha as an intial Puja in sheer scheme of vendetta. When Ganesha appeared before them and granted some boons, they asked for the power of being able to insult and chase away Gautama, as an indesirable person from there. Ganesha understood that Gautama was very helpful by nature, tried to persuade the saints from getting their way. He knew that, but for Gautama’s efforts, the saints would be craving for even a drop of water. But the saints would have none of it. Reluctantly, Ganesha had to accode to the request of the adamant Rishis, but warned them to be ready to face the consequences of angering a great saint like Gautama.

One day, when Gautama went to get some “Breehi”, he saw a thin, starving cow there. Just when he lifted a little twig to show away the cow, the cow fell dead. The other Rishis caught the opportunity and accused Gautama of slaying a cow “Gohatya”. They insulted him and said that he must leave that palce immediately in order to save it from the aftermath of Gohaty. Gautama became very sad and left feeling greatly depressed.

Gautama wanted to absolve himself of the sin of Gohatya “Cow slaughter”. He thus resorted to the method of Tapas recommended by great saints. He began the difficult task of bringing Ganga water with the power of his Tapas, take bath with that water and chant Shiva mantras a crore times and worship the Parthiva Linga. Shiva was pleased and told him that he is indeed a pure soul and a great Mahatma. A great injustice was done to him, Shiva told him that he could ask for some boons. Gautama asked for Ganga, which would be of great help to the humanity. Shiva gave Ganga to Gautama, in the form of Tatwarupa Avishishta Jal. After taking the water, Gautama requested Shiva to absolve him of the sin of cow slaughter. Shiva purified Gautama and wanted to go back to His abode after that. But he told the Lord to remain on the earth till the end of Kaliyuga. Ganga prayed to him and requested him to stay on the earth, along with his consort Parvati. For the welfare of the world, Lord Shiva granted Ganga her wish. 

Ganga wanted to know from Lord Shiva, how people will know about her greatness. The Rishis said that until Brihaspati stays on the Simha Rashi (Leo), we will stay here on your banks and will take a holy dip in your waters thrice a day before taking the Darshan of Shiva. Only by doing so, would we able to war our sins. On hearing this Lord Shiva and Ganga stayed there. Ganga has also come to be known as Gautami and the Linga came to be known as Tryambaka.

The river which gave away cows as Go-Daan became Godavari. Ganga who came on the request of Gautama became Gautam Ganga. That was the auspicious time of Brahmagiri, the time in between, when the Kurmavatar was over and before the assumption of Varahavatar, the Sanghiparva. The planet Guru (Jupiter) was in the sign of Simha (Leo), Magha Shuddha Dashami, Thursday after noon, when Gautami Ganga was born. The area of Brahmagiri too looks like the Lingamurthyy. From the tip, the water of Gautami Ganga flows.

Tryambakeshwar Story

The spring at Brahmagiri from where Godavari comes out, is known as Gangadwar. The Ganga water flows from a rock shaped like a cow face, constantly. The temple of Godavari mata is located here. The idol looks happy and peaceful. The Varaha Teertha is close by.

After emanating from Gangadwar, the river Godavari thins down and almost disappears, only to appear again at Tahalhati. In order to prevent it from disappearing, Gautam Rishi threw Darbhas on all four sides. Because of this, Godavari flows in Kushavarti. The Kushavarti Maha Teerth is a circle of 27 meters. It is built very strong. There are steps on all four sides to facilitate going down to the waters.

At the time of Simhasta (in Leo), every 12 years, a Kumbhmela is held here. Lakhs of people take a holy dip in Kushavarta. On all the four sides of Kushavartha corridors are built. Beautiful statues are also carved here in the Brahmagiri Talhati, near Kushavarti, there is a big lake called Ganga Sagar.

On the parikrama path, there are beautiful places like Ram Teerth. Prayag Teerth and Nrisimha Teerth etc, The Peshwa kings planted trees at every 25 hand distance. During the reign of the Peshwas, criminals were asked to do the Parikrama (circumbulation) of Brahmagiri as punishment.

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Sri Rameshwaram

Taking the Ganga water to Rameshwar, is considered as a very auspicious and pious thing to do after the pilgrimage of the four holy shrines. After taking a holy bath in Ganga water, the holy water is carried and offered to Lord shiva of Rameshwaram. After this a little sand from here is carried to Ganga and immersed there. Completing this ritual is believed to make one’s pilgrimage complete and successful.

In classics like the Skandha Purana, Shivapurana etc., Rameshwar is shown as a very important place. The story of Rameshwara goes like this:

History of Rameshwar Jyothirlingam

After Sita’s abduction, Ram wandered in the jungles looking for her. While doing so, he met Sugriva and made friends with him. Later with the help of special messenger Sri Hanuman, he found out where Sita was taken. Then Rama prepared an army to invade Ravana’s empire and reached the southern seashore. He did not have any means of crossing the sea. Lakshman and Sugriva saw Rama, who is a Shiva devotee in great anguish and could do nothing. But Ravana received some special boons from Lord Shiva. Rama was aware of this and therefore, his fears could not be set at rest. In the mean time, Rama was full thirsty. Just as he was about to drink water, he remembered that he was yet to perform Shiva pooja. He immediately made a Prathiv Linga and worshipped it with sixteen methods, i.e., Shodasopachar Vidhis.

Ramji prayed to Lord Shiva ardently and soulfully, and sang songs of Lord Shiva’s praise in a loud voice. He danced and made the sounds of “Aagad bam bam”. This pleased Lord Shiva immediately and instantly appeared before Rama and told him that could ask for any boons and that he would grant them. Ram showed a lot of care, affection and love to Lord Shiva and prayed and paid obeisance. Rama said “If You want to grant me my wishes, please stay on this earth for the sake of all make it holy” Shiva granted the same by saying “Evamastu” meaning “so be it”. He thus stayed there and came to be known as Rameshwara, in the form of a Shiva Linga and became popular.

With the blessings of Lord Shiva, Rama killed all the demons including Ravana and became victorious. Any one who takes a Darshan of the JyotirLinga at Rameshwar and sprinkles the holy water of Ganga, attains salvation, Kaivalya Moksha or Nirvana.

Specialities of Rameshwaram

The place where the JyotirLinga is located, a large and expansive temple has been built. It is famous in the world as a typical architectural example. In the Ramnad district of Tamilnadu, this temple is situated on a big island of sand. It is worth seeing and is a wonderful experience. The main entrance of the temple tower has many storeys and stands tall. Its structure carvings, statutes and the peaks make people dumb founded. The grandeur of the Lord is really felt here. The human weakness for being narrow-minded is automatically removed and they feel their horizons broadened.

On the tall stone pillars of temple, beautiful carvings can be seen. Elephants with their trunks raised are seen. The four sides of the temple are enclosed by strong stone walls. They are 650 ft. and 12ft. wide and tall respectively. This wonderful temple built on the sand island, is a work of great art and very impressive.

Near to a gold plated pillar, a river is carved on a monolithic stone of 13 feet high and a foot wide. This indeed is a typical example of beautiful sculpting.

Near the main temple of Rameshwar, there is a separate temple for Parvati known as Parvatavardhini temple. Besides this, there are temples of Santana Ganapati, Veerabhadra Hanuman, navagrahas, etc., At a distance of about nearly 2 kilometers from the main temple, there is Gandhamaadhan mountain. In spite of being a sandy area, it is very green with a variety of flora. This is the Nandanavan of Rameshwar.

This island shrine consists of 24 odd holy water sources like Rama teerth, Sita Kund, Jata Teerth, Lakshman Teerth, Kapi Teerthas, Brahmakund, Galawa teerth, Mangala teerth, Kodandaram teerth, Pandav teerth etc., The waters at all these places is sweet and has a taste of its own. Every teerth has a typical story attached to it. Devotees take Darshan and feel purged by doing so.

Everyday, right from 4am till 10pm devotees keep coming to the temple and prayers go on. After the Harati at night, the Lord is made to sleep in a Golden swing i.e., the Bhoga statutes of Shankara and Parvati put to bed.

During Mahashivaratri and on the 15th day in the month of Ashadha (Rainy season) a Badatra mela/fete takes place, with great festivity. Devotees flock here on these days and at all times right from Nepal and entire India. People in a variety of dresses, attired differently come here.

sambandhar, and appar have sung padhikam (1) on the Lord of Rameshwaram.

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