KEDARNATH TEMPLE: AN ANCIENT INDIAN ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL

Some may say its a miracle. Some may say its entirely spiritual.We would never know whether those claims are true or not. But, we would try to bring up the science behind this miraculous survival of Kedarnath temple from 2013's North India floods.
 
It is believed that this temple was built by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century. Ice Age is considered to have taken place between 1300-1900 AD and the temple was built within the glacier - the engineers of the temple had kept the terrains and the formation of the glaciers and the snow in mind and built the temple to withstand any kind of natural disaster.The temple is 85 feet high, 187 feet long and 80 feet wide. The walls are 12 feet thick and built of very strong stones. The platform on which the temple stands is six foot high.

The Kedarnath valley was the epicenter of the 2013 Himalayan 'tsunami.' Heavy monsoon rains and the resulting landslides washed away most modern constructions in its wake but the 1200 year old Kedarnath temple survived. The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee in Dehradun, Uttarakhand said that the temple is almost unscathed and the statue of Nandi outside the temple door is also intact. All pilgrims who took refuge in the temple during the tragedy also survived while the destruction all around the temple is close to complete annihilation.

The temple bell, the 'Shiv Ling' and other idols were safe. It was the 10 feet of quick sand that saved the idol.The destruction by landslides and mud flow took a heavy toll on modern buildings, many built illegally without any concern for local environment. Yet, the thousand years old Kedarnath temple survived.

It is the sheer structure of the building that holds the mystery as it was under the snow for almost 400 years and still survived. Scientists further confirm that the temple structure has several yellow lines that implies glacial movement over the stones. Glaciers comprise of mud and rocks and can be really abrasive.The temple's strength in surviving such a disaster can be attributed to ancient Indian architectural wisdom.

The survival of the Kedarnath temple owes mainly to the architectural principles used in designing and building it: "Heavy polished stone slabs were welded to slabs without any mortar and 'man-woman' type joints were used to integrate the superstructure. Kedarnath temple survived the force of floods because of a strong stone plinth specifically built in the steep valley area to withstand the vagaries of the climate."

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