Kedareshwar Temple, Varanasi –
Legends
Kedareshwar:
As per legend, Sage Mandhata
worshiped Lord Kedareshwar at Kedarnath. Pleased with his worship, Lord
Kedareshwar appeared before him and asked his wish. Sage Mandhata requested Lord
Shiva to show his Linga Roopa. But, Lord Shiva refused his wish and explained
the reason behind his refusal. After cutting the fifth head of Lord Brahma, Lord
Vishnu and other celestial beings prayed to Lord Shiva to resuscitate Lord
Brahma. As per their wishes, Lord Shiva revived Brahma life.
After getting life Brahma requested
Lord Shiva to give him Linga Darshana so that he can get rid of the sin he
made. But Shiva told that he had taken an oath and could not show the darshan.
Instead, he suggested Lord Brahma to visit Kasi and perform ten Ashwa Medha Yagas
so that his sin can be cleared. As suggested, Lord Brahma went to Kasi and did
worship at Dasaswamedh ghat and got relief from his sin.
Similarly, Lord Shiva ordered Sage
Mandhata to do worship at Varanasi. Mandhata went to Varanasi and continued his
worship. Mandhata was strictly following Aththi puja. He used to have his lunch
only after offering an Aththi. He used to visit Kedarnath daily with his Tapasya
power. Once, some sages visited him and expressed their wishes in joining him
in his visit to Kedarnath.
Sage Mandhata was pleased to
accept their wish. He has not yet completed his Aththi Pooja for the say. He prepared
a Naivedhya with rice mixed with purified green gram. Then a Bhikshu appeared
before him asking meals. Mandhata separated the Naivedhya and kept a part of it
for Naivedhya and the remaining part for Bhikshu. He went to bring water for
the Bhikshu. In the meanwhile, both the parts got mixed up.
He became confused and worried
about Shiva Naivedhya. All the Rishis and the Bhikshu had hurried him. He
prayed to Lord Shiva to solve the problem. Lord Shiva in the disguise of
Bhikshu mixed the Naivedhya. Naivedhya became a Shiva Linga. Lord Kedareshwar along
with Annapurna appeared before Mandhata and other sages. He gave them Linga
darshan and bestowed them with various boons.
Kashi Khand:
Kedareshwar is a Shiva temple in
Himalayas which is one of the twelve jyotirlingas. According to Kashi Khand,
one gentleman performed the Upanayanam ceremony of his son named Vashisht at
Ujjain. The boy, Vashisht, was very religious and performed all poojas
including Linga pooja etc. He used to visit Kedareshwar Temple in Himalayas
along with his Guru regularly and perform pooja of Lord Kedareshwar.
Once, on the way to Kedareshwar,
the Guru died unfortunately and since he had all along done only good deeds, he
found a place for himself at Mount Kailas. Vashisht who was 12 at that time,
got an enlightenment that those who go for having darshan of Kedareshwar are
blessed with all punyas. He then went and settled down at Kashi.
But on all Chaitra Month
Poornima days (March 20-April 21), Vashisht (who remained a Brahmachari) used
to visit Kedareshwar Ling at Himalayas and this went on for 61 years. But due
to old age, he could not move out
and he started praying to Lord
Shiva at Kashi. Lord Shiva blessed him with a wish and Vashisht requested that Lord
Shiva should kindly appear at Kashi itself as Kedareshwar.
Lord Shiva was overwhelmed with
the sincerity and devotion of Vashisht and granted accordingly. He appeared as
Kedareshwar at Kashi and told Vashisht that performing pooja at Kedareshwar at
Kashi will yield seven times greater punya as compared to performing pooja at
Kedareshwar at Himalayas (Kashi Khand, Chapter 77). Gauri Kund, Hans teerth and
Mana Sarovar Teerth find mention in Kashi Khand in reference to Kedareshwar but
now only Gauri Kund remains.
Mana Sarovar and Hans Teerth
have dried up. People observe vrath (fast) on Chaitra Month (March 20-April 20)
Shukla Paksha Chaturdasi and break their fast on Poornima day, the next day,
after performing pooja of Kedareshwar. This is as stated in Kashi Khand where
Vashisht used to pray Lord Kedareshwar on Chaitra Poornima days.
Place for Salvation:
Kashi is divided into three
Khands, Omkar Khand, Vishweshwar Khand and Kedar Khand. It is believed that a person
who dies in Kashi attains Mukti. Going a step further, if the person dies in
the area governed by Kedar Khand, he obtains immediate Mukti while in other two
Khands, there are some sort of hardships to be faced.
Trishula:
It is believed that Kashi is
built on Shiva's Trishula, Shri Kedareshwar Temple is where the south spear of
Shiva's trishula is. The central one is Kashi Vishwanath Temple, and the north
spear is Omkareshwar Temple, corresponding to the Omkareshwar Temple near
Indore.
Kasi Kedara Mahatmya:
The Kasi Kedara Mahatmya tells
that Lord Kedareshwar kept his fifteen Kalas in Kasi and he is in Kedareshwar
only with his sixteenth kala.
Equivalent to Kedarnath:
According to Shiv Mahapurana,
Kedarnath is located in Kedar Parvat of Himalayas in the western direction of
Mandhakini. Kedareshwar Jyotirlinga located at Kedar Ghat of Varanasi is a
replica of Kedarnath of Himalayas. It is believed that by worshipping Kedareshwar
Jyotirlinga of Varanasi, can obtain the same benefits similar to Kedarnath of
Himalayas.
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