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How Kedarnath temple survived the horrific flood and 400-years under snow?


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New Delhi : The beautiful view of the Mandakini River, lush green forests and snow-clad peaks make every traveler visiting Kedarnath enchanted. This place has special significance due to its religious beliefs. Every year a batch of thousands of pilgrims come here to worship Lord Shiva. Here’re some interesting stories related to Kedarnath temple.

History of Kedarnath Temple – The origin of Kedarnath temple is based on many different beliefs. Some people say that this temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century. While some believe that it was built by King Bhoja of Malwa in the second century. But, why was the Kedarnath temple built? There are many stories about this too.

An interesting anecdote of this is also associated with the Mahabharata. It is said that after the Kurukshetra massacre, the Pandavas reached the shelter of Lord Shiva to atone for their sins. But Lord Shiva did not want to give them darshan. So lord shiva took the form of Nandi bull in Guptkashi. However, the Pandavas also identified Shiva in this form. Lord Shiva disappeared from there and his five limbs reappeared at five different places. Mouth appeared in Rudranath, hands in Tungnath, stomach in Madhyameshwar, hair in Kalpeshwar and kubad in Kedarnath.

The second story is related to Nara Narayan. A Hindu deity who went to worship Parvati, but Lord Shiva appeared there. Nara-Narayan urged Lord Shiva to stay there in the original form for the welfare of humanity. Lord Shiva fulfilled his wish and accepted Kedarnath as his home.

400 years under snow – Geologists claim that the temple of Kedarnath remained under snow for almost 400 years. The period around 1300–1900 AD was known as the Ice Age. Scientists from the ‘Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology’, Dehradun, say, “Yellow lines on the walls of the temple indicate glacial movements in the region.”

According to the report, this temple was not only pressing into the depths of snow for 400 years, but also protected itself from the damage caused by glacial waves. Scientists say that signs of glacial waves are also seen inside the temple. There is a lot of sparkle in the stones here. Scientists studied this architecture and came to the conclusion that while designing the temple, there must have been an idea of danger due to ice and glacier in the minds of the makers. Only then would they have ensured the strength of the temple to face the natural disasters.

2013 floods –
The horrific disaster of 2013 floods in Kedarnath will remain in people’s minds for centuries. Thousands of people lost their lives in this disaster. Many homes were lost.

Both Kedarnath and its place of pilgrimage came under the grip of this natural disaster, but the temple did not suffer any damage in the flood. Some people say that a shilakhand (rock) blocked the path of the flood leading to the temple and thus this temple of Lord Shiva remained safe. It was a miracle of great architecture that even in the midst of such devastation, the Kedarnath temple was rock strong.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also agrees that due to its orientation and construction style, the temple of Kedarnath suffered such a devastation. The domes of the temple are interlocked with each other with an iron clamp. This is why they are still intact today. There is a slight difference on the stones inside the temple.

Another rare aspect of this temple is also its north-south direction. The temples usually face the east or west direction. But the gate of this temple is towards the south, which is seen very rarely in any construction. ASI’s Additional Director BR Mani said that on the scale of 100, this temple is 99 percent safe. In the pictures, we saw that the door of one of its mandap was broken. Some stones from behind had come out. The temple of Kedarnath, situated at a height of about 3,969 above sea level, is built in the Rekha-Shikhara style.

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