There are so many stories behind Kedarnath Temple History and it has been a pilgrimage center since ancient times. Although, it is not confirmed who built the original Kedarnath Mandir and when. A mythological story describes the temple’s construction to the legendary brothers Pandavas. But the holy Mahabharata does not mention any place called Kedarnath.
One of the earliest references to Kedarnath is found in Skanda Purana (7th and 8th century). According to Skanda Purana, Kedara is the place where Shiva releases the Holy Ganga from his matted hair (called in Hindi as “Jata”).
Pandavas History
According to mythology, Pandavas built the Kedarnath temple after Mahabharata. It is said that Pandavas wanted to go to Lord Shiva for forgiveness after killing their Kaurav brothers to atone for their sins. But Lord Shiva did not want to meet them. That’s why Lord Shiva hid in Guptkashi.
Pandavas and Draupadi spotted a bull that was very unique from the other bulls In Gupt Kashi. Pandav’s brother Bheem identified that the bull is none other than Lord Shiva himself. Lord Shiva who was hiding from them was in the form of Nandi, the bull. Bheem tried to catch the bull but couldn’t succeed, he only caught the tail of the bull.