Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand

031/366 Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

Kedarnath Temple situated at around 11700ft(3584 meters) in Uttarakhand.
One needs to trek for 14 km from Gaurikund. One can also use horse or dholi to reach this lovely place. This route is extremely scenic and to be remembered for long. Most part of trek is next to beautiful River Mandakini and one gets to see various falls through out the trek including Rudra Falls.

It is also believed that, Jyotirlinga situated here was worshipped by Pandavas and main temple was built by them..

Indian Saint & Philosopher, Adi Shankaracharya, who propagated "Advaitha" concept, is said to have renovated this temple. Sri Shankaracharya's Samadhi is close to the temple.

About pic: Wooden carving of Lion seen on Kedarnath Temple.

More info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedarnath_Temple

Nageshwara - Jyotirlinga

020/366 Nageshwar, Gujarath is one of the Dwadasa(12) Jyotirlingas.
It is located near the holy city of Dwarka in Gujarat.
Legend says, Krishna the King of Dwarka worshipped at this shrine.

Normally linga is made from black stone and resemble pillars rounded at the top.
The linga at Nageshwar is, however, unique. It is made from a stone known popularly as Dwarka Stone, which has small wheel imprints on it. The linga is shaped like a three-faced oval Rudraksha, which literally means the tears of Shiva.

The Legend

In the Rudra Samhita of the Shiva Purana, Nageshwar is addressed as “DarukavaneNagesham”. This refers to the legend of Supriya. Supriya was a devotee of Shiva who was attacked by the asura Daruka, while she was traveling in a boat. Supriya was then imprisoned by the demon along with many other captives in his capital city of Darukavana. Daruka wanted to get additional powers from Shiva and so he asked Supriya to teach him the correct way to worship Shiva. Supriya knew that Daruka was a tyrant and would use the powers for destructive purposes so she refused to help. This enraged Daruka and he decided to kill Supriya. In order to rescue his devotee Shiva appeared in the form of a Jyotirlinga and killed the demon with his Pashupatastra. Daruka’s wife Daruki, however, continued to torment Supriya. Therefore Shiva emerged again from the Jyotirlinga to kill Daruki as well. It is this Jyotirlinga that is worshipped as Nageshwar.

More info