Chardham Yatra - Part 8 (Kedarnath)

Day 7 - 25 May 19 was the day we have all been looking forward to - Darshan of Lord Kedarnath.  We woke up a little late on this day as our plans were not finalised. We had paid in advance to our tour operator for booking helicopter rides for all of us but till the last minute he could not make the reservations online.

The previous night we had spoken to a pilgrim who had just returned from Kedarnath. He had gone up by taking a ride on a horse and told us that it was a difficult journey. He said it rained during their climb up and though they were wearing raincoats, their clothes and bags containing spare clothes all got soaked wet. It was chilling cold up there and very difficult to breath, he said. Only 3 members of their 25 member team braved the journey and all of them found it very tiring. Horse ride took nearly 5 hours due to stoppages, traffic etc. The stay in the mountain was also uncomfortable due to the extreme cold and the lack of oxygen, he further added. He recommended to us that if we go up it has to be by helicopter and we should try to return the same day.

From Sitapur, we had 4 choices to reach the adobe of Kedarnath (a) Going to Sonprayag and taking a jeep to Gaurikund and then Trekking - 16 kms which could take anything from 8 to 12 hours depending on our speed (b) Doli from Gaurijund which could take about 6 hours (c) Horse ride from Gaurikund which was about 5 hours (d) by Helicopter ride from Sersi which takes only 7 minutes. 

Based on the recommendation of the pilgrim and, on my own experience, I suggested that we should opt for helicopter ride, if available. Unfortunately, due to unprecedented rush of pilgrims as well as shortage of helicopters, no tickets were available. Over breakfast of hot idli, vada and chutney, much against our wishes, we were discussing next alternate mode of reaching HIS abode and some of us were contemplating taking the horse ride, as we were determined to have HIS darshan. 

Before coming for this Yatra, two of our members had visited Shankaracharya at Sringeri Mutt to seek His blessings and He had enquired how many people were there in our group. When told that we were ten members, He had given His blessings and said “Go ahead. You have my full & complete Ashirwadam”.

While we were discussing the alternative mode of going up to Kedarnath, a group from Bangalore who were staying in the same hotel as ours seem to have heard our plight and asked us as to how we are planning to go to the shrine. When we said we don’t have tickets but are planning to go to the helicopter station to try our luck, they said they have got tickets for the helicopter ride and as our luck will have it, they said 10 of them have dropped out and can give those tickets for us. Imagine our ecstasy. We were 10 members and they also had exactly had 10 tickets to spare. Strange are HIS ways. HE clears all obstacles. Guru's Ashirwadam and Goddess's benevolence made this possible. We really felt blessed and overwhelmed at this turn of events.

However, it was not very smooth. HE was testing our patience and determination. We were not sure whether the Helicopter company will allot those tickets to us or to any other people who were waitlisted by them. Initially, the helicopter company agreed to allot all the 10 seats to us but later said they can give us only 7 tickets. After lots of pleading, 10 tickets were issued to us.  As we were awaiting our turn to board the flight, suddenly dark clouds formed and started raining, resulting in the helicopter services being suspended. Our prayers were answered when suddenly the skies cleared, sun came out and flight services were resumed after about half an hour. The two way helicopter ride costed us approximately Rs. 5000 per person.

Finally, after being ready at 7 am in the morning we reached the Holy Kedarnath at 7 pm, to be greeted by majestic snowclad mountains and biting, bone chilling cold. From the helipad it was a short walk, of about half a kilometre, to our room in a hotel.  All around us we could see snow lining the walkway. We crossed a short bridge over the river Mandakini to reach the temple side. We were connected to a local priest by our tour operator who also manages accommodation for pilgrims. The priest suggested that we can have the last darshan at approx. 8.30 p.m. and then go for special darshan in the night along with Abhishekam. Special darshan tickets were available for @ Rs. 1000/- per pilgrim which was procured by the priest. Our slot was at 11.30 pm.

The two rooms we were given were very basic. There was no flowing water in our bathroom as the waterpipes were clogged and broken in some places due to the cold. It rained heavily once we were in our room and the temperature dropped further. When we landed at Kedarnath, it must have been 3 degrees Celsius which became nearly zero after the rain. The local priest arranged dinner for us (we had not had much to eat since our breakfast and were famished). Dinner was hot chappatis with dal and potato sabzi and hot Kichadi with pickles. Hot dinner brought some energy & warmth in us.

Only five of us went (the others were too much overcome by the cold and the breathlessness.) for Alankar darshan at 8.30 p.m. This is when the Lingam is dressed up & decorated with flowers etc.  Although the darshan was only for a few moments, it was wonderful, and I was seeing this for the first time in all my 5 visits. The main temple doors close only after the last pilgrim is allowed inside and hence everyone who comes and joins this queue will get this darshan.

The special darshan starts around 10 p.m. after the last pilgrims who have come for Alankar darshan have left the temple premises. Entry for this is from a side door and strictly monitored to allow only ticket holders. In this darshan, the decorations are removed from the Lingam and local priests guide the pilgrims through the Pooja & Abhishek process. The Lingam at Kedarnath is unusual and not in the usual shape seen at all temple. This is in the form and shape of the mountain itself – rocky and uneven. Lord Ganesh & Devi Parvati are in different parts of the Lingam. The Lingam is anointed with Sandal paste & Ghee, water is offered as are other pooja articles like sugar coated prasad, flowers & rice grains.  We even got to embrace the Lingam as part of the Pooja.

My wife had a sudden low-pressure problem within the temple while we were in the queue for the special darshan. She was on the verge of collapsing. Luckily, I had some toffees in my pocket which I gave to her and this stabilised her a bit. It was the Lords grace that she recovered to participate in the Pooja.

After a super fantastic darshan we returned to our room at 1 a.m. The path was almost deserted at that time but we could still see some weary trekkers coming in. We had 2 five bed rooms. All beds were joined together and had thick & unwieldly Rajais (blankets) to keep us warm. Despite blocked noses and difficulty in breathing, some of us managed to catch a few winks of sleep. We were waiting for the morning to come so that we could go to the helipad and take the return flight to Sersi. One of the ladies in the group had a sudden bout of vomiting in the night. Luckily it did not deteriorate from there and the night passed without further incident.

Thus ended a miraculous, magnificent & eventful Day 7 of our Yatra.