Lord Shiva on request of Nara-Narayana agreed to stay in Kedharnath. He resides here as one of the 12 jyothirlingas.
After the Mahabharatha war, on the advice of sage Vyasa, the Pandavas went in search of Shiva. They were seeking forgiveness for killing their own relatives during the dharma yudha. The travelled to Kasi. Not able to find the lord there they proceeded to Kedharnath and started to look around.
Lord Shiva, however, did not want to forgive them that easily. He turned into a bull and hid among the cattle in GupthKasi. Yudhishtra felt the presence of lord there. On his advice, Bheema stood a top the valley and makes all the bull pass under his leg. It was a way to find Shiva, as they knew that the lord wouldn't pass under his legs.
As expected, one of the bulls didn't budge to pass under his legs. So, they identified it as Shiva and started to ask for his mercy.This time Shiva tried to disappear by sinking himself head-first into the ground. One of the brothers grabbed his tail, forcing him to appear before them and forgive them. The Pandava brothers then built the first temple at Kedarnath.
The portions of Shiva's body later appeared at four other locations; and collectively, these five places came to be known as the five Kedharas ("Pancha Kedhar");
1. The hump of the bull appeared in Kedharnath, just the way it was when Bheema caught hold of the tail. (That explains the shape of the shiva Linga here)
2. The nabhi (navel) and stomach appeared in Madhyamaheshwar
3. The arms appeared in Tunganath
4. The head of the god appeared at Rudranath.
5. The Jata (matted hair) appeared at Kalpeshwar
When we see this with the location map, we will be able to appreciate it much more.
Even the mighty Pandavas, who were helped by lord Krishna himself, had to struggle so much to get rid of their heavy sins. We must learn that getting rid of a sin isn't that easy. So, its lot more better to be careful in what we do than to repent on it later.
Kedharnath ki Jai !!!
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