Panchkedar

(“The Five Kedars”) The collective name
for a network of five sites, sacred to the
god Shiva, spread throughout the
Garhwal region of the Himalayas:
Kedarnath, Rudranath, Tungnath,
Madmaheshvar, and Kalpeshvar. Each
site is identified with a part of Shiva’s
body, thus providing a series of connections between the deity’s body and the
land itself—understandably so, since
Shiva is believed to dwell in the
Himalayas. Kedarnath is identified as
Shiva’s back, Madmaheshvar his navel,
Tungnath his arm, Rudranath his face,
and Kalpeshvar his matted locks (jata).