Kedarnath Temple

Kēdāranātha Temple (Sanskrit: केदारनाथ मन्दिर, IAST: Kēdāranātha Mandira, lit. 'temple of the God of the field') is a Hindu temple, one of the twelve jyotirlinga of Śiva. The temple is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandākinī river, in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open to the general public only between the months of April (Akṣaya Tritiya) and November (Kārtika Pūrṇimā, the autumn full moon). During the winters, the vigraha (deity) of the temple is carried down to Ukhimath to be worshiped for the next six months. Kēdāranātha is seen as a homogeneous form of Śiva, the 'Lord of Kēdārakhaṇḍa', the historical name of the region. The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 17 kilometres (11 mi) uphill trek from Gaurikuṇḍa. According to Hindu legends, the temple was initially built by the Pāṇḍavas, and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Śiva. The Pāṇḍava were supposed to have pleased Śiva by doing penance in Kēdāranātha.