Kedarnath Dham temple gates will be thrown open to public from April 29 2020 on the eve of Akshay tritya, the mandir samiti president said on the occasion of Mahashivratri. The announcement was made by Mohan Prasad Thapliyal, Badrinath-Kedarnath Mahasamiti President. The gates of Kedarnath shrine will open with chanting of Vedic hymns at 6:10 am on 'Mesh lagna'. "Kedarnath" means "the lord of the field" it derives from the Sanskrit words kedara (field) and natha (Lord).
The auspicious hour and date for the reopening of the famous Himalayan shrine in Uttarakhand was announced at a religious ceremony held on the occasion of Shivratri at the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath where lord Kedar is worshipped during winter. The temple is one of the major sites in India's Char dham pilgrimage (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri and Rameswaram) of northern Himalayas. There is sangam of 5 rivers in kedarnath ' nandakini, madhu ganga, cheer ganga, saraswati, swarn gori'. There are lakhs of pilgrims came to Kedarnath.
The idol of lord Shiva will leave Ukhimath on April 26 in a palanquin adorned with flowers borne on the shoulders of devotees and priests after a pooja of Bhairavnath on April 25 and will reach Kedarnath on April 28 via Fata and Gaurikund.
The best time to visit or take up the journey to Kedarnath dham is during the months of May - June and September – October. Kedarnathy dham is closed due to snowfall, the Temple is closed and no one stays in Kedarnath. For six months (November to April) the Palki with the utsava murti of Lord Kedarnath is transferred to a place near Guptakashi called Ukhimath.
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