Kedarnath shrine was under snow for 400 years: Scientists

Kedarnath Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April (Akshaya Tritriya) to November (Kartik Purnima – the autumn full moon). During the winters, the vigrahas (deities) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped there for six months. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the ‘Lord of Kedar Khand’, the historical name of the region.

The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 18 kilometres (11 mi) uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony and manchan service is available to reach the structure. The temple was built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva. It is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, expounded in Tevaram. Pandavas were supposed to have pleased Shiva by doing penance in Kedarnath. The temple is one of the four major sites in India’s Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas. This temple is the highest among the 12 Jyotirlingas. Kedarnath was the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods in North India. The temple complex, surrounding areas and Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but the temple structure did not suffer any “major” damage, apart from a few cracks on one side of the four walls which was caused by the flowing debris from the higher mountains. A large rock among the debris acted as a barrier, protecting the temple from the flood. The surrounding premises and other buildings in market area were heavily damaged.

The temple, at a height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), 223 km from Rishikesh, on the shores of Mandakini river, a tributary of Ganga, is a stone edifice of unknown date. It is not certain who built the original Kedarnath temple and when. The name “Kedarnath” means “the lord of the field”: it derives from the Sanskrit words kedara (“field”) and natha (“lord”). The text Kashi Kedara Mahatmya states that it is so called because “the crop of liberation” grows here.

According to a mythological account, the god Shiva agreed to dwell here at the request of Nara-Narayana. After the Kurukshetra War, the Pandava brothers, came here to meet Shiva on the advice of the sage Vyasa, because they wanted to seek forgiveness for killing their kin during the war. However, Shiva did not want to forgive them: so, he turned into a bull and hid among the cattle on the hill. When the Pandavas managed to track him, he tried to disappear by sinking himself head-first into the ground. One of the brothers grabbed his tail, forcing him to appear before them and forgive them. The Pandava brothers then built the first temple at Kedarnath. The portions of Shiva’s body later appeared at four other locations; and collectively, these five places came to be known as the five Kedaras (“Panch Kedar”); the head of the bull appeared at the location of the Pashupatinath Temple in present-day Nepal.

The Mahabharata, which gives the account of the Pandavas and the Kurukshetra War, does not mention any place called Kedarnath. One of the earliest references to Kedarnath occurs in the Skanda Purana (c. 7th-8th century), which contains a myth describing the origin of the Ganges river. The text names Kedara (Kedarnath) as the place where Shiva released the holy water from his matted hair.

According to the hagiographies based on Madhava’s Sankshepa-shankara-vijaya, the 8th century philosopher Adi Shankara died at Kedaranatha (Kedarnath); although other hagiographies, based on Anandagiri’s Prachina-Shankara-Vijaya, state that he died at Kanchi. The ruins of a monument marking the purported death place of Shankara are located at Kedarnath. Kedarnath was definitely a prominent pilgrimage centre by the 12th century, when it is mentioned in Kritya-kalpataru written by the Gahadavala minister Bhatta Lakshmidhara.

According to a tradition recorded by the English mountaineer Eric Shipton (1926), “many hundreds of years ago”, the Kedarnath temple did not have a local priest: the priest of the Badrinath temple used to hold services at both the temples, traveling between the two places daily.

New Delhi: Scientists claim that Kedarnath temple was under snow for almost 400 years and say that most of the people are unaware of this fact. According to scientists of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, Kedarnath temple survived being buried under the snow for almost 4oo years and so they are not surprised that the shrine did not suffer much damage during the massive floods on June 15-16 in the region.

According to the scientists, the temple structure has several yellow lines, which were formed as the glacier slowing moved over the stones. Actually glaciers move very slowly and are not only made up of snow and ice but also have rocks and mud. The temple not only survived being under the snow for 400 years but also escaped any serious damage due to glacial movement even though its impact can be seen in the form of yellow lines on the stones used in constructing the Kedarnath shrine. Scientist say that even the inside of the temple shows signs of glacial movement and the stones are more polished.

They point out that the period between 1300-1900 AD is known as Little Ice Age when a large portion of the earth was covered by the snow. It is believed that during the period Kedarnath temple and neighbouring are was covered by snow and became a part of glaciers. Although there is no documentary evidence regarding the age of Kedarnath temple and by whom it was constructed, but there are several myths about its construction.

Some says Raja Bhoj of Malwa, who ruled between 1076 to 1099 AD, built the temple while another theory is that the temple was built in the eight century by Adi Shankracharya. There is also a legend that Pandavas built a temple behind the Kedarnath shrine in the Hindu Dwapar era. But the temple could not survive the vagaries of times.

According to the Garhwal Vikas Nigam the temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya in the eight century and so existed when the Little Ice Age of 1300-1900 AD came.

Wadia Institute of Geology scientists conducted Lichenometric dating of Kedarnath temple and the nearby areas. Lichenometric dating is a technique to find out the age of stones. According to the Lichenometric dating, glacial formation in the area started in the mid of 14th century and continued till 1748.

So it is clear when the temple was being constructed, the technicians not only kept in mind the terrain but also the formation of snow and glaciers and ensured that the structure was strong enough not only to withstand natural disasters and the passage of time.

Actually, the entire area of Kedarnath is a part of Chorabari glacier. Kedarnath temple is surrounded by mountains from three sides. On one side is the 22,000 feet high Kedarnth while Kharchkund, which is 21,600 feet high, is on the other side and on the third side is the 22,700 feet Bharatkund. According to the legend the area also has five rivers Mandakini, Madhuganga, Chhirganga, Saraswati and Swarndari but some of them are mythical.

But Mandakini rules the Kedarnath area and there is heavy snow in winter and plenty of water during the rainy season. So the believers kept in mind that in Hindu religion Shiv, to whom Kedarnath is dedicated, is a not only a saviour but also a destroyer. So the entire temple complex and the area was built in such a way that the shrine would be able to survive natural disasters.

The temple is 85 feet high, 187 feet in length and 80 wide. Its walls are 12 feet thick and built from extremely strong stones and stands on a six-foot high platform.