Kedarnath Sightseeing - Shankaracharya Samadhi

On a missionary tour debating various scholars across India, the renowned Advaita philosopher Adi Shankaracharya traveled to the Himalayas and reached the Badrinath-Kedarnath region where he also wrote the famous Bhashyas ("commentaries") and Prakarana granthas ("philosophical treatises"). Kedarnath had fallen into ruins till Adiguru Shankaracharya revived it and initiated systematic worship and maintenance here. He allotted the responsibility to several of his disciples who had accompanied him. To this day, Kedarnath temple has a Nambudiripad Brahmin from Kerala as its chief priest/Rawal. At a young age of 32, Shankaracharya then took mahasamadhi at a beautiful spot behind this temple on the banks of the Mandakini. The site of the Samadhi has a temple with his statue and the Shivalinga worshipped by him. With the mighty peaks in the backdrop, a refreshing patch of lush green between the two temples unites the space in a serene and calm aura. A marble wall with the symbolic presence of Shankara's hand holding the Sanyasi's staff divides the temples. The Mandakini River flows in quiet reverence beside the temple making for deep introspective environs.