Panch Kedar

Panch Kedar

The legend of the Panch Kedar is linked to the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Pandavas were the heroes of the epic. They killed their cousins, the Kauravas, in the Kurukshetra war. The Pandavas wanted to atone for their sins of killing their kin and Brahmins during the war. According to the legend, Shiva hid from the Pandavas by turning himself into a buffalo. When Bhima, one of the five Pandava brothers, tried to capture the bull, it disappeared. Shiva then reappeared in five different locations in the Himalayas. The Pandavas built temples at each of these locations. The Pandavas believed that worshipping Shiva would free them from their sins. Shiva promised to stay in the sacred spot as a triangular jyotirlinga. The Panch Kedar are five Hindu temples in the Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India. The temples are dedicated to the god Shiva. The temples are: Kedarnath, Madhmaheshwar, Tungnath, Rudranath, Kalpnath. The temples are collectively known as Panch Kedar, which means "five" in Hindi. The temples are one of the most important pilgrimages in Hinduism. According to mythology, the Pandavas built the temples to celebrate and worship Shiva. The temples are linked to the Mahabharata, where the Pandavas were searching for Shiva. It is believed that Shiva appeared in five different parts in different regions of Garhwal.