Lagatar24 Desk
Rudraprayag, May 6: The doors of the Kedarnath Temple opened on Friday morning for devotees. On the occasion, thousands of devotees were present. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his wife offered prayers at the temple.
The doors of the temple opened following years old traditional ritual of Vedic chanting. The temple has been decked with 15 quintals of flowers. The portals of the temple closed for winter for six months on November 6 last year.
Kedarnath Temple is one of the four ancient pilgrimage sites known as the ‘Char Dham,’ which also includes Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Badrinath. It is located on the Mandakini river’s bank. Kedarnath Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, was built in the eighth century AD by Jagad Guru Adi Shankaracharya.
On the auspicious festival of Akshaya Tritiya, the annual Chardham Yatra began on May 3 with the opening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in the Uttarkashi area. On May 8, the Badrinath Temple’s portals will open.
The state government reduced the number of pilgrims allowed to visit the Char Dhams earlier this month. Badrinath will be able to accommodate 15,000 pilgrims each day, Kedarnath 12,000, Gangotri 7,000, and Yamunotri 4,000. This arrangement has been made for 45 days.
