Standing magnificently at an altitude of 3,969mts and enveloped in the mighty Garhwal Himalayas, the Kedarnath Temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. Kedarnath forms one of the four sites of the Char Dham pilgrimage. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Kedarnath Temple is among the 275 temples of Paadal Petra Sthalams (the most powerful Shiva temples in the world) and is also the most important among the Panch Kedar.
The Panch Kedar temples are designated in the strict pecking order to be followed for pilgrimage for worship ; the Kedarnath at an altitude of 3,583 m , the Tungnath (3,680 m) , the Rudranath (2,286 m) , the Madhyamaheshwar (3,490 m) and the Kalpeshwar (2,200 m).
Standing majestically tall at an altitude of 3,969 metres above sea level, the Kedarnath temple has been built in the Rekha-Sikhara* style with three different horizontal divisions. Most of the temples face East or West, but the Kedarnath temple has a rare orientation of North- South. The face of the temple is in South. It may be possible that in the 11th century the people had thought of the stones rolling down from the north or any calamity; hence they structured it like this.The domes of the temple are interlocked with each other using iron clamps.
The Tungnath Temple- The temple is approximately 1000 years old and is the highest Shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located just below the peak of Chandrashilla and is the third (Tritiya Kedar) in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars. It has a rich legend linked to the Pandavas heroes of the Mahabharta Epic. Legend goes that, it was constructed by Pandavas after the Kurukshetra War. Also, in winters the shrine sleeps under a thick blanket of snow and the whole place is enveloped in absolute serenity. It is widely believed that Lord Rama had meditated here after slaying the demon king Ravana.
Rekha-Sikhara* - Structure having square at the base and whose walls curve or slope inward to a point on top is called the 'latina' or the rekha-prasada type of shikara.
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