temples and pilgrimage
What are the Panch Kedar shrines and what is the mythology behind them?
The story behind the shrines
The Puranic tradition connects these five shrines to the Pandavas, the brothers at the heart of the Mahabharata. After the great war, the Pandavas were weighed down by the sin of killing their own kin, including their teachers and relatives. They wanted Shiva's blessing and forgiveness. Shiva, however, did not want to meet them easily. He took the form of a bull and hid among a herd of cattle in the Garhwal hills. Bhima, the strongest of the brothers, recognised him. When Bhima tried to catch the bull, Shiva dived into the earth. Different parts of his body are said to have surfaced at five separate places in the mountains. Those five spots became the Panch Kedar, the five Kedar shrines.
The five shrines and what each holds
Each shrine is linked to a part of Shiva's body that is said to have appeared there. Kedarnath, the most famous of the five, is where the hump of the bull surfaced. Tungnath, the highest of all five, is associated with the arms. Rudranath is linked to the face. Madhyamaheshwar is said to be where the navel and middle section appeared. Kalpeshwar is connected to the hair or matted locks, the jata, that Shiva is so often shown wearing. Together the five form a whole, which is part of why the full circuit carries such weight in the tradition.
Where the shrines sit
All five are in the high Garhwal Himalayas, now in the state of Uttarakhand. They sit at different altitudes, some deep in forests, some above the treeline. Kedarnath is the best known and draws the largest number of pilgrims. The others are more remote. Tungnath sits at a very high elevation and is among the highest Shiva temples in the world. Because of the terrain and the snow, most of the shrines are only open for part of the year, typically from late spring to early autumn.
The pilgrimage today
Doing all five shrines in one journey is considered especially meritorious in the tradition. Pilgrims usually travel the circuit over several days or weeks, moving on foot through mountain trails between the temples. The route is physically demanding. Many pilgrims do Kedarnath alone, which is now accessible by road and helicopter, while the full Panch Kedar circuit draws those seeking a longer and more arduous journey. For the Hindu diaspora, visiting even one of these shrines on a trip to India is seen as a significant act of devotion.