After tireless efforts, I am standing in front of Baba Kedar with folded hands, wet and shivering with cold. It is very difficult to describe my feeling in words, how I am standing in front of the temple with folded hands, eyes closed and moist. It seemed as if the energy present here had taken possession of me. I have completely forgotten that I am standing barefoot on the wet floor. This is a divine place and even today I remember the moment when I reached here for the first time. There has been no difference in the power present here since 2013. I stand barefoot in front of the cupboard for two hours.
Shri Kedarnath Yatra 10th Oct 2023
Shri Kedarnath Yatra 10th Oct 2023
The time of Aarti starts at 7 pm, not everyone gets the honor of being at this holy place at this holy time. I thank Baba for this opportunity. And as soon as the Aarti starts, the holy words dissolve in the atmosphere, the entire mountain comes alive. The energy of the devotees is reaching its peak, people are standing around me with their eyes closed, some people are standing with folded hands and tears are flowing from their eyes out of compassion. Aarti continues till 8 o'clock, the aarti thali comes outside and I hide its warmth in my chest so that I get courage in bad times.
Behind Kedarnath Temple you can clearly see Kedar Dome mountain whose height is 6832 meters.
When it is evening in Kedar Valley, the sky also comes down to earth.
The trek from the camp site leads directly to Kedarnath temple.
Shri kedarnath aarti ki thaali
After Aarti I enter the temple from the temple premises. Now the time has come that the devotee can have darshan of his God. Inside the temple, the statues of the five Pandavas are installed on the walls and in the sanctum sanctorum, Lord Kedarnath is seated in the shape of a bull's hump. I give the Prasad in the hands of the Pandit who touches Baba's feet and returns it to me. After staying inside the temple for a few minutes, I come out. Coming to the gate, I fold my hands and accept the Prasad found inside. I say Har Har Mahadev and think let's find a room.
Har har mahadev
हर हर महादेव
Famous Bhima Shila which saved Kedarnath temple from getting damaged in the disaster of 2013
I look around for a room to stay but in most of the hotels rooms are not available and where available the rent is up to Rs 3000. This is all the money I have brought on this trip. After searching a lot I can't find anything so I think let's have dinner first and then see. Stopping at a restaurant, I order a plate of food in which I get two rotis, two vegetables and some rice. I get energy after eating food. Now I am about to set out again in search of a room but then I see some people who are local and are going to Sonprayag at night.
This temple has been standing firm for centuries, the power present here will not let anything happen to it.
Looking at these people I think that if they can go at night then why can't I? When I talk to one of those people, he tells that there is no problem at night, in fact, walking at night is more comfortable because horses do not move at night and there are no travelers on the road. There are pillars all along the way and there are lights on every pillar, so there is no problem in getting down. After providing the necessary information, the group quickly disappears from my sight.
I have a tea and start descending at 09:30 at night. After walking two kilometres, I felt good about the decision to descend at night. Actually, there are lights on the road, no horses, no crowd. Because now it's down, I can walk at my own pace. I play Baba Kedar's bhajans in my mobile and start descending. The first 5 km is completed in one hour. I am thinking that Gaurikund should be reached in 4 hours. If we talk about time, I will reach Gaurikund by 1.30 in the night.
One by one Base Camp, Rudra Point, Chhani Camp, Lincholi, Chhota Lincholi Rambada were crossed. 10 km covered in just three hours. Now only 6 kms left to cover. I met a few people all along the way, some going up and some going down like me. Some horse riders were also found who were looking for rides and some basket riders were also found. All the shops were closed at night, so if you travel at night, take care of water and food arrangements with you. Bhimbali and Rambada crossed and now only Jangal Chatti is left to cross.
So I covered the distance of 16 km on foot at night and reached Gaurikund at 3 o'clock. After reaching here, we come to know that the sharing car going to Sonprayag runs even at night. Felt good to hear this news because now I won't have to walk another 5 km. After waiting for about 40 minutes, a car starts in which I also sit. It takes half an hour to reach Sonprayag from Gaurikund. After paying Rs 50, I start walking towards Sonprayag bus stand where by the time I reach it is 5 in the morning.
Here sharing taxi is standing in the parking lot to go to Rishikesh. I also sit in one. The fare from Sonprayag to Rishikesh is Rs 1000 per person whereas the same fare at the time of arrival was Rs 700. So it takes us two hours to cross Augustmuni because the road is not good. After Agastmuni, the road is wide and well maintained so the car moves at speed. We cross Rudraprayag, Srinagar and Devprayag and reach Rishikesh at 1.30 pm. There was a traffic jam in Tapovan due to rafting, hence we got a little late in reaching Rishikesh.
After lunch from Rishikesh, I take a bus to Delhi which drops me in Delhi at 7 pm. So in this way I visit Kedarnath and also reach home before Navratri. I hope you liked this religious journey. Have you ever been to Kedar Valley? If yes, please tell in the comment section in which year you went. See you in the next post, till then stay healthy and happy.
Har Har Mahadev, Jai Kedar, Jai Mata Di, Jai Shri Ram, Jai Ho Devbhoomi Ki
हर हर महादेव, जय केदार, जय माता दी, जय श्री राम, जय हो देवभूमि की
Disclaimer: The above content has been written by me in Hindi which I have translated into English with the help of Google Translator. All photos have been clicked by me on Poco F1 Android mobile and edited in Lightroom software.
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