Kedarnath

Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat

in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand,
India, known primarily for the Kedarnath
Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres
from Rudraprayag, the district
headquarter. Kedarnath is the most
remote of the four Chota Char Dham
pilgrimage sites. It is located in the
Himalayas, about 3,583 m (11,755 ft)
above sea level near the Chorabari Glacier,
which is the source of the Mandakini river.
The town is flanked by snow-capped
peaks, most prominently the Kedarnath
Mountain. The nearest road head is at
Gaurikund about 16 km away. The town
suffered extensive destruction during June
2013 from the Flash Floods caused by
torrential rains in Uttarakhand state.[4]
 Kedarnath
Kedarkhand

Town

A view of Kedarnath

Kedarnath

Location in
Uttarakhand,
India
 Show map of Uttarakhand
Show map of India
Show all

Coordinates: 30°44′N 79°04′E (https://geoha

ck.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Ke
darnath&params=30.73_N_79.07_E_type:cit
y(612)_region:IN-UK)

Country India
State Uttarakhand
District Rudraprayag
Named for Kedarnath Temple
Government
• Type Nagar Panchayat
• Body Kedarnath Nagar
Panchayat
Area
• Total 2.75 km2
(1.06 sq mi)
Elevation 3,583 m (11,755 ft)
 • Total Population612
(2011)
• Density 220/km2 (580/sq mi)
Language
• Official Hindi[1]
• Additional official Sanskrit[2][3]
• Regional Garhwali
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 246445
Vehicle registration UK-13
Website badrinath-kedarnath
.gov.in (http://badri
nath-kedarnath.gov.
in/)

Etymology
The name "Kedarnath" means "the Lord of
the Field". It is derived 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.[5]

History

Kedarnath has been a pilgrimage centre

since ancient times.The temple's
construction is credited to the Pandava
brothers mentioned in the
Mahabharata.[6][7] However, the
Mahabharata does not mention any place
called Kedarnath. One of the earliest
references to Kedarnath occurs in the
Skanda Purana (c. 7th-8th century), which
names Kedara (Kedarnath) as the place
where Lord Shiva released the holy waters
of Ganga from his matted hair, resulting in
the formation of the Ganges River.[8]

According to the hagiographies based on

Madhava's Sankshepa-Shankara-Vijaya, the
8th century philosopher Adi
Shankaracharya died near the Kedarnath
mountains; although other hagiographies,
based on Anandagiri's Prachina-Shankara-
Vijaya, state that he died at Kanchipuram.
The ruins of a monument marking the
purported resting place of Adi
Shankaracharya are located at
Kedarnath.[9] 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.[10]

Location

View of kedarnath Temple during snowfall

Kedarnath is located at a distance of

223 km from Rishikesh in Uttarakhand and
close to the source of the Mandakini River
at the height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft) above
sea level.[11] The township is built on a
barren stretch of land on the shores of
Mandakini river. The surrounding scenery
of the Himalayas and green pastures
makes it a very attractive place for
pilgrimage and trekking. Behind the town
and the Kedarnath Temple, stands the
majestic Kedarnath peak at 6,940 m
(22,769 ft), the Kedar Dome at 6,831 m
(22,411 ft) and other peaks of the
range.[11][12]

Demographics
As of the 2011 India census,[13] Kedarnath
has a population of 830. Males constitute
99% of the population and females 1%.[14]
Kedarnath has an average literacy rate of
63%: male literacy is 63%, and female
literacy is 36%. Out of total population, 604
were engaged in work or business activity.
Of this 601 were males while 3 were
females.[14] In Kedarnath, none of the
population is under six years of age. The
floating population from May to October
every year is more than 5000 per day with
the pilgrim influx rising up to 10 lacs (1
million) in 2022.[15]
Climate

The Kedarnath Temple is closed during the

winter months due to heavy snowfall. For
six months, from November to April, the
palanquin with the Utsava Murti (Idol) of
Kedarnath and of the Madhyamaheshwar
Temple is brought to the Omkareshwar
Temple in Ukhimath, near Guptakashi.
Priests and other summer-time residents
also move to nearby villages to cope with
the winter. Around 360 families of the
Tirtha Purohit of 55 villages and other
nearby villages are dependent on the town
for livelihood.[16] According to the Köppen-
Geiger climate classification system,
Kedarnath's climate is monsoon-influenced
subarctic climate (Dwc), bordering a
uniform rainfall subarctic climate (Dfc)
with mild, rainy summers and cold, snowy
winters.

Climate data for Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Mean daily
1.0 2.4 6.0 10.8 14.8 17.1 16.5 15.9 14.3 10.6 6.9 3.7
maximum °C
(33.8) (36.3) (42.8) (51.4) (58.6) (62.8) (61.7) (60.6) (57.7) (51.1) (44.4) (38.7)
(°F)
Daily mean −3.7 −2.3 1.2 5.6 9.3 11.9 12.3 12.0 9.8 5.3 1.6 −1.4
°C (°F) (25.3) (27.9) (34.2) (42.1) (48.7) (53.4) (54.1) (53.6) (49.6) (41.5) (34.9) (29.5)
Mean daily
−8.4 −6.9 −3.5 0.5 3.8 6.8 8.2 8.1 5.3 0.1 −3.6 −6.5
minimum °C
(16.9) (19.6) (25.7) (32.9) (38.8) (44.2) (46.8) (46.6) (41.5) (32.2) (25.5) (20.3)
(°F)
Average
118.0 101.0 116.0 63.0 50.0 75.0 240.0 234.0 149.0 57.0 24.0 51.0
precipitation
(4.65) (3.98) (4.57) (2.48) (1.97) (2.95) (9.45) (9.21) (5.87) (2.24) (0.94) (2.01)
mm (inches)
Source: [17]

2013 flash floods

 The Kedarnath Temple and the huge
rock behind it in the aftermath of the
flood

On 16 June 2013, at approximately

7:30 P.M., a landslide occurred near the
Kedarnath Temple. Water from the
Chorabari Tal or Gandhi Tal down
Mandakini River also washed away
everything in its path at about 8:30 p.m. On
17 June 2013 at approximately 6:40 a.m.,
waters rushed down from Chorabari Tal or
Gandhi Sarovar, bringing along with its
flow, a huge amount of silt, rocks, and
boulders. A huge boulder got stuck behind
the Kedarnath Temple, protecting it from
the ravages of the flood. The flood-water
gushed on both sides of the temple,
destroying everything in its path.[18][19]
Thus in the middle of the pilgrimage
season, torrential rains, cloud bursts, and
resulting flash floods nearly destroyed the
town of Kedarnath. The town was the
worst affected area by the floods.[20]
Thousands of people were killed, and
thousands of others (mostly pilgrims)
were reported missing or stranded due to
landslides around Kedarnath. Although the
surrounding area and compound of the
Kedarnath Temple were destroyed, the
temple itself survived.[21][22]
The rescue operation resulted in more than
100,000 people being airlifted with the help
of mainly the Private Helicopter Operators,
who began the rescue mission voluntarily
without any clear directives from the State
Government or the Ministry of Defence.
The Indian Army and Indian Air Force
helicopters arrived much after the Private
Helicopter Operators had already begun
the massive air-rescue mission. Dare-devil
helicopter pilots, mostly ex-Indian Air
Force and Ex-Army Aviation officers, flew
relentlessly. Capt. Unni Krishnan from
Prabhatam Aviation & Capt. Bhatnagar
from Premair were few such outstanding
pilots who landed at the Sh. Kedarnath Ji
right-ridge at dusk hours - 1910hrs (almost
35 minutes after 'sunset') to pick-up the
'last' batch of survivors for the day. The
NDRF represented by a commandant, and
another junior officer arrived at the 'right-
ridge' of the town bordering the Mandakini
River, unprepared with a malfunctioning
satellite phone. However, the next day, they
brought in more men and supplies. The
first Indian Army officer to arrive at the Sh.
Kedarnath Ji 'right-ridge' was a Captain
from the Assam Rifles Regiment. He
single-handedly displayed exemplary
courage in rescuing many survivors by
climbing up steep slopes and fractures
along the Rambara ridge-line. The Indian
Army later launched a massive rescue
effort with thousands of its brave-heart
men and vital equipment. The Indo-Tibetan
Border Police and the reserve battalions of
the Uttarakhand Police displayed
outstanding courage in the rescue mission.
A Eurocopter AS350 B3 helicopter, each, of
the private helicopter operators -
Prabhatam Aviation & Simm Samm
Aviation, were lost during the rescue
mission without any reported casualties.
An Indian Air Force helicopter (Mi 17) also
crashed during this exercise, killing all 20
people on board (all of them were soldiers
involved in relief and rescue work). The Air
Force dropped logs to build pyres for
mass cremations of the victims.[20] It was
reported that previously uncollected
bodies were still being found one year
after the tragedy.[23]

Flood-proof infrastructure plan

After the floods, the Government of India

decided to provide a flood-free
infrastructure plan for the town. This
involves:

Development of the retaining wall and

ghats on the Mandakini River
Development of the retaining wall and
ghats on the Sarasvati River
 Construction of the main approach to
the Kedarnath Temple
Development of the Adi Shankaracharya
Kutir and Museum
Development of houses for the
Kedarnath Teerth Purohits

The foundation stone for the plan was laid

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20
October 2017.

Places of interest

Other than the Kedarnath Temple, on the

eastern side of the town is Bhairavnath
Temple,[11] and the deity of this temple,
Bhairavnath, is believed to protect the town
during the winter months. About 6 km
upstream from the town, lies Chorabari Tal,
a lake cum glacier also called Gandhi
Sarovar.[11] Near Kedarnath, there is a cliff
called Bhairav Jhamp.[11] Other places of
interest include the Kedarnath Wildlife
Sanctuary, Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi,
and Rudra meditation cave.[24]
Kedarnath in the 1860s, with the temple
being the prominent structure.

Lord Bhairavnath Ji considered as the

Protector God of the area
 The Kedarnath Temple in 2014, one year
after the floods.

The Mandakini River on the bank of the town

See also
 Omkareshwar Temple in
Ukhimath, where the Kedarnath
and Madhyamaheshwar idols are
kept during the winter months.

Kedarnath (mountain)
Badrinath
2013 North India floods

References

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Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities,
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-54697/) . CLIMATE-DATA.ORG. Retrieved
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www.tehelka.com. Archived from the
original (http://www.tehelka.com/what-hap
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Retrieved 16 July 2013.
19. "Uttarakhand floods: Survivors of Kedarnath
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22. Mishra, Subhash (19 June 2013).
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23. Bhatt, Bindiya (12 June 2014). "Exclusive:
Dead bodies of pilgrims found in
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Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend

(ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna
Dhallapiccola

External links

Official website (https://badrinath-kedar

nath.gov.in/)
Media related to Kedarnath at
Wikimedia Commons
Kedarnath travel guide from
Wikivoyage
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Kedarnath&oldid=1197628307"

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