Today's science suggests that the Kedarnath temple was probably built in the 8th century. The temple has existed for at least 1,200 years.
The terrain has unique features. Kedarnath hill is 22,000 ft high on one side, Karachkund is 21,600 ft on the other side and Bharatkund is 22,700 ft high on the third side. The five rivers flowing through these three hills are Mandakini, Madhuganga, Chirganga, Saraswati and Swarandari.
The process of creating an artwork in a place where there is a huge amount of snow on a cold day and water flowing at very high speeds during the rainy season must have been tremendous work.
To this day, one cannot drive to the place where the Kedarnath Temple stands. Why was it built in such a place? How was it built in such unfavourable conditions? Scientists speculate that if the temple was put in place in the 10th century, it would have been a short "Ice Age" period.
The Wadia Institute of Geology, Dehradun conducted a test of lignomatic dating on the rocks of the Kedarnath temple. This was done to determine the "life of the stones". The test showed that the temple was completely buried in ice from the 14th century to the middle of the 17th century but there were no damages.
Most of us are aware of the catastrophic flood that hit Kedarnath in 2013. The magnitude was :-
* Rainfall was 375% higher than the average.
* The ensuing floods killed 5,748 people.
* Damaged 4,200 villages.
* 1,10,000 people were airlifted to safety by the IAF.
But even during the catastrophic flood, the entire structure of the Kedarnath temple remained intact! The Archeological Society of India and IIT had conducted "NDT testing" subsequently. The studies reaffirmed the strength and the safety of the temple structure.
Science further affirms that the method of stone and structure used in the construction of the temple is the reason for its ability to survive in the flood. It is built on the "south-north" axis while most of the temples of India are on an "east-west" alignment. Experts believe that this is an important contribution to its invincibility!
The second aspect is that the stone used in it is very hard and durable. The uniqueness is that the stone used for the construction is not available there and even after so many years, there is no difference in its properties!
The strong stones of the temple are glued together in an "Ashler" manner without the use of any cement. And the effects of the temperature variations do not affect the stone joints. Kedarnath is the highest of the 12 'Jyotirlingas', coupled with its grandeur.
The discussion was to show as to how advanced the Vedic Hindu religion and culture were.
Tailpiece.
Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a 10' to 10. It was another rainy day.
Another of those quiet days!
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