Panch Kedar Yatra

Panch Kedar, meaning "five Kedars," refers to a sacred cluster of five ancient Shiva temples nestled in the Garhwal region of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. The legend behind these temples begins after the great war of the Mahabharata. The Pandavas, having killed their own kinsmen including the Kauravas in battle, were burdened with the sin of gotra-hatya and bhratru-hatya — the killing of one's own clan and brothers. Seeking absolution, they approached Lord Shiva, who, unwilling to grant them darshan easily, took the form of a bull and fled into the Himalayas, hiding among the herds at Guptakashi.

When Bhima recognised Shiva among the cattle, the Lord dived into the earth to escape, but Bhima caught hold of his hind portion before he could vanish completely. Shiva's body is then said to have manifested in five different places across the Garhwal Himalayas, and it is at these five spots that the Pandavas built temples to worship him, thereby attaining liberation from their sin. Together these five shrines form the Panch Kedar circuit, one of the most revered and physically demanding pilgrimages in Hindu tradition.

The most famous of the five, Kedarnath, at an altitude of about 3,583 metres, is where Shiva's hump (the back portion of the bull) is worshipped. It is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, doubling its sanctity. The temple, built of massive grey stone slabs, has survived centuries of harsh Himalayan weather and even the devastating 2013 floods, standing as a symbol of divine protection.

At around 3,680 metres, Tungnath is the highest Shiva temple in the world and is where the arms of the bull form are said to be enshrined. It is also considered one of the Panch Kedar shrines closest to the sky, offering a breathtaking view of the Chaukhamba peaks, and is easily reached via a trek from Chopta.

Rudranath, reached through a demanding forest trek, is where the face of Shiva is worshipped, in a naturally formed rock temple. Here, Shiva is also worshipped in his fierce form as Rudra, and the temple is surrounded by alpine meadows and rhododendron forests.

At Madhyamaheshwar, the navel and stomach (madhya, the middle portion) of the bull-form are enshrined. This temple lies amid the stunning backdrop of the Chaukhamba range and is reached via a trek from the village of Ransi.

The final and most easily accessible of the five, Kalpeshwar, open throughout the year unlike the others which close for winter, is where the jata, the matted locks of Shiva, are worshipped in a natural cave shrine in the Urgam valley.

Completing the Panch Kedar yatra is considered one of the most spiritually purifying pilgrimages, believed to grant liberation from even the gravest sins, following the example of the Pandavas themselves.