Express News Service
KEDARNATH: The next time you visit Kedarnath Dham, you’d discover an additional gilded sheen to the majesty of the 11th Jyotirlinga temple. Two Archaeological Survey of India officials along with engineers of IIT Roorkee is quietly supervising a layer of gold being added to decorate the sanctum.
Apart from the walls, the sanctum, including Jaleri (a small corridor leading up to the Shivling) and the ceiling, has got 550 layers of gold sheets weighing 230 kg. A part of the work was completed on Wednesday, Badri Kedar Temple Committee officials told this daily.
“On behalf of the Government of India, a six-member team led by Janvij Sharma, Additional Director General, ASI, made a detailed inspection of the temple premises last week,” Committee chairman Ajayendra Ajay said.
The work of putting a layer of gold in the sanctum of the temple was started after a report of experts,” he added.“A team of Central Building Research Institute Roorkee and ASI have already inspected the sanctum,” he said.
“The decoration of the sanctum is almost complete with 19 labourers working for the last three days in the presence of experts. A day after Bhai Dooj (Oct 26), the portals of Kedarnath Dham will be closed for the winter,” said Ajay.
The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee has done the work in collaboration with a donor (name not revealed) from Maharashtra. Before the gold plating, silver layers were removed in the presence of temple committee officials. These silver shavings have been preserved in the temple store, sources said.
Copper sheets were installed to measure the actual size to make 550 gold sheets on the walls of the sanctum. Finally, the raised copper sheets were removed and taken back to Maharashtra for the final manufacture of gold sheets.
These sheets were brought from Delhi a week ago in a special vehicle. In September last year, silver layers were removed to make the sanctum covered by gold-plated sheets. The portals of Shri Kedarnath Dham will be closed for winter at 8.30 am on Thursday. The Panchmukhi Doli of Lord Kedarnath will depart for winter abode at Shri Omkareshwar Temple Ukhimath.
According to experts associated with the temple committee, the holy Kedarnath temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century. Shankaracharya rebuilt the place where the Pandavas of Mahabharata fame built the Shiva temple. Adi Shankaracharya’s samadhi site was damaged in the previous landslide. It has also been restored.
KEDARNATH: The next time you visit Kedarnath Dham, you’d discover an additional gilded sheen to the majesty of the 11th Jyotirlinga temple. Two Archaeological Survey of India officials along with engineers of IIT Roorkee is quietly supervising a layer of gold being added to decorate the sanctum.
Apart from the walls, the sanctum, including Jaleri (a small corridor leading up to the Shivling) and the ceiling, has got 550 layers of gold sheets weighing 230 kg. A part of the work was completed on Wednesday, Badri Kedar Temple Committee officials told this daily.
“On behalf of the Government of India, a six-member team led by Janvij Sharma, Additional Director General, ASI, made a detailed inspection of the temple premises last week,” Committee chairman Ajayendra Ajay said.
The work of putting a layer of gold in the sanctum of the temple was started after a report of experts,” he added.“A team of Central Building Research Institute Roorkee and ASI have already inspected the sanctum,” he said.
“The decoration of the sanctum is almost complete with 19 labourers working for the last three days in the presence of experts. A day after Bhai Dooj (Oct 26), the portals of Kedarnath Dham will be closed for the winter,” said Ajay.
The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee has done the work in collaboration with a donor (name not revealed) from Maharashtra. Before the gold plating, silver layers were removed in the presence of temple committee officials. These silver shavings have been preserved in the temple store, sources said.
Copper sheets were installed to measure the actual size to make 550 gold sheets on the walls of the sanctum. Finally, the raised copper sheets were removed and taken back to Maharashtra for the final manufacture of gold sheets.
These sheets were brought from Delhi a week ago in a special vehicle. In September last year, silver layers were removed to make the sanctum covered by gold-plated sheets. The portals of Shri Kedarnath Dham will be closed for winter at 8.30 am on Thursday. The Panchmukhi Doli of Lord Kedarnath will depart for winter abode at Shri Omkareshwar Temple Ukhimath.
According to experts associated with the temple committee, the holy Kedarnath temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century. Shankaracharya rebuilt the place where the Pandavas of Mahabharata fame built the Shiva temple. Adi Shankaracharya’s samadhi site was damaged in the previous landslide. It has also been restored.