Kedarnath Temple is about 1000 years old. When you see the majesty of it (from the outside), you wonder how with no modern technology they built such an exquisite building !! It is amazing how the heavy gray slabs were brought to that location.
There are two temples. The story goes that the older one was built by the Pandavas. (I know we can't prove this). Like any other sthala puranas of the country, you decide whether to believe it or not. Personally, I believe about Adishankara's time. The story about the Pandavas and Lord Shiva goes like this. He was running away from them (eluding) and took refuge in Kedarnath in the form of a bull. There is a huge sculpture of a bull in the front. The actual lingam inside the shrine is in a conical form, very different from the traditional lingam forms in other temples of Shiva.
When I was doing pradakshinam of the temple, I stopped at Adishankara's picture to do namaskaram. I felt a surge of energy in my body. (In 1998 in one of my dreams, I saw His Holiness Adishankara. Actually I saw Swami Vivekananda, Adishankara, Sathyasaibaba and some more Holymen entering a conference hall. Perhaps just to tell me that all lead to the same goal. I did not feel like moving even one step from there. But I had to. As I went a few more feet and turned right, I saw Hanuman statue on my left. Again, the same feeling. There I stood longer and prayed for my friend's husband who was extremely sick. Inside the Temple, the carvings of deities were beautiful.
In the meantime, someone from the group helped (?) my husband hire a guide (cum priest) for us to perform the pooja inside the shrine. We bought the tickets and waited in line. Then I noticed that that family was much ahead of us in line and the guide was with them. Later on, when I probed, I found out that they did not even buy a ticket. They promised him that they would bring more customers to him and so on....... Wow!! Can you believe that. Anyway, once we entered the inside shrine, we were on our own, Mind you, we had a receipt for the payment and on the outside of the deal, nothing looked illegal or unlawful. So, just as a precaution, feel the 'small print' before you hire someone. Now I am relieved that he did not claim to be an astrologer because my belief in astrology.
The lingam was very small and we could stand in front of it for a few minutes (unlike the SV Temple in Tirupathi). The crowd was big here also. Lot of chanting was going on and it was spiritually uplifting.
We came out and it was terribly cold again. One must visit this temple in their life time at least once. I don't mind going again. The family that recommended that priest for us mentioned that they had visited a few times before.
We were told that Shankaracharya took samadhi at this location at the young age of 32.
By the way, did I mention Gaurikund? We took bath in the thermal springs before we headed for the trekking. The water was hot, but it was very slippery inside. So, I held on to the chains provided for holding on. I mused when young women half my age wanted to hold on to my shoulder for support. It was a good experience. The men had a private springs of their own.
We did not have a cell phone with us. Some carried one or two. I have no idea how the reception was. I am not sure whether it is a good idea to carry one.
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