5. Jyotirlinga at Kedarnath

The story of the Kedarnath Temple is an interesting one. The mighty Pandavas, after having killed and defeated their cousins Kauravas in the war of Kurukshetra, wished to atone for their sins (of killing their own kin and various Brahmins). On Krishna's advice, they had left their kingdom behind, to pray to Shiva and be blessed with forgiveness. They visited Kashi for the same reason, which was supposed to be Shiva's favourite city. However, they were unable to find him anywhere - this was majorly because Shiva was extremely angry at the death and dishonesty that occurred at Kurukshetra.

The Pandavas then went looking for him in the Garhwal region of the Himalayas. There, Bheem happened to see a powerful bull grazing at the place who he instantly recognised as Shiva, disguised. He tried to get hold of him but Shiva, the bull, disappeared in the ground and his body parts re-emerged in five different places of the region, with the hump having risen in Kedarnath. The Pandavas then built five temples for Shiva at those five places which are today known as the Panch Kedar. The Pandavas were then eventually freed of their sins by Shiva, and later they also began their journey for salvation, today known as Mahapanth or Swargarohini.